


The Occasional Wife

by MTK4FUN



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: AU Historical 1985, Adventure, F/M, Los Angeles, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-17
Updated: 2013-02-18
Packaged: 2017-11-29 16:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/688802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTK4FUN/pseuds/MTK4FUN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When banker Gale Hawthorne is passed over for a promotion because he's single, he gets a brilliant idea. "Catnip, will you be my wife...my occasional wife?" The plan seems foolproof until Katniss meets a certain baker she can't resist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Tears For Fears)

Gale Hawthorne hung up the phone that sat on his expansive cherry wood desk and straightened his tie. He stood up and grabbed his gray suit jacket, which was draped across a nearby upholstered chair. The big boss, Bank President Coriolanus Snow wanted to see him immediately.

Finally getting that promotion, he thought. He’d worked for L.A. Federal Savings and Loan for three years now, ever since college graduation. He’d done a great job helping to set up the merger between his employer and National Trust Savings and Loan in Oregon. Finally he’d get some recognition for all his hard work.

Snow’s secretary Delly Cartwright waved him in as he approached. “He’s waiting for you,” the plump blonde said with a smile.

Gale smiled back. This was his day.

He opened the door to find Cato Ableman, the other acquisitions trainee, already seated inside.

Why is he here? A moment of doubt passed over Gale. But his confidence returned quickly. He’d worked hard and knew he deserved the promotion.

“Thanks for getting here so quickly Mr. Hawthorne,” Snow said. “Please have a seat.”

Gale sat down in the chair next to Cato.

“I called you here Mr. Hawthorne to commend you on your fine work with the National Trust merger,” he said.

Gale smiled broadly.

“As you know the Acquisitions department manager position has been open for some time.”

This is it, Gale thought.

“I have decided to give this position to Mr. Ableman, here. While you both have done excellent work, he shows the greater maturity. You’ll be reporting directly to him now.”

Reporting to Cato? Gale groaned inwardly. How can Cato be more mature? What was Snow talking about?

“How is your lovely wife?” Snow turned and asked Cato.

“Great. Clove is fine.”

“I enjoyed myself at your wedding,” Snow said. “Such a lovely affair.”

So Cato was married, Gale thought. Big deal! That didn’t make him more mature did it?

“I always like to see our managers settle down,” Snow continued. “Married men are more dependable. They make better managers than single men.”

He frowned at Gale. “That will be all Mr. Hawthorne.”

Gale stood up and left, while Cato stayed behind to get further instructions.

Gale fumed all the way back to his office. Married men are more dependable. What kind of crap was that? Hard work should count for something. And he’d spent a lot more time in the office than Cato ever did.

For the past three years he’d been trying to figure out how the corporate world operated. It was a strange place where appearances mattered more than reality. Where how you dressed and the location of your office determined your status among your peers. Where the egos of your superiors must be carefully tended.

Now when he finally thought he’d figured it all out, Snow had thrown this curveball. Married men were more dependable. Ridiculous. A lot of the married executives he knew cheated on their wives. He’d even heard rumors about Snow and his secretary Delly.

Gale had no intentions of getting married simply to advance his career. He guessed he’d marry someday, but right now work came first. If only there was some way he could make it appear that he was married and dependable without actually having to get married.

He carefully dialed the phone on his desk. “Hello Catnip,” he said. “How about lunch?”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty-three-year old Katniss Everdeen sat at the sidewalk café drumming her fingers on the table as she waited for her friend Gale. She was dressed in a blue skirt and matching blazer. Her long dark hair pulled up into a tight chignon. She looked every bit the definition of a serious-minded career woman.

Katniss stared impatiently at her watch. She had to be back by 2 p.m. for a presentation. Where was he?

Katniss and Gale had been friends for almost twelve years. They’d both grown up with single mothers who were still close friends. Katniss thought of Gale as her older brother. In fact, people had often mistaken them for brother and sister when they were growing up because they both had the same dark hair and grey eyes.

She hadn’t seen him for several months now, ever since he started working on that bank merger project. But that was okay; she was busy too. After graduation from college she had been hired at Abernathy, Inc., one of the premier public relations agencies in Los Angeles. She’d been working long hours for the firm as a public relations representative. It was interesting work and she’d learned a lot on the job, but it didn’t leave much time for socializing. She’d been pleasantly surprised to get Gale’s call. She wondered what he’d been up to lately.

Finally, he arrived. Katniss waved at him, and noticed that several women turned to glance as he walked by.

Gale’s a good looking guy, she thought. I should set him up with Madge.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he sat down across from her. “Something came up at the last minute.”

“I need to be out of here by 1:30,” Katniss said. “I’ve already ordered.”

He quickly glanced at the menu and placed his order with the waiter.

“I have a huge favor to ask of you Catnip.”

“Sure, anything. What is it?”

“Would you be my wife?”

Katniss sat back in her chair. Her face grew pale. “What? Gale, we’re not like that.. I never…”

“Never considered it, huh?” He smirked, before growing serious. “Look, I was passed over for a promotion today simply because I’m not married. The bank I work at is extremely conservative and they view married men as being more dependable I guess.”

“That’s absolutely crazy. It’s 1985. Who thinks like that anymore?”

“Bank President Coriolanus Snow. If I want to get ahead at work, I need a wife. Since I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon, heck, I don’t even have time to meet anyone, I need someone to pretend to be my wife.” He paused for a moment before asking, “Would you be my occasional wife?”

“What exactly does that involve?” Katniss asked cautiously.

“Attend a couple of work functions with me, that’s all.”

“That’s fine for now Gale, but how long would I have to keep this up? Maybe at some point in the far off future, I might want a personal life.”

“You Catnip, really?” Gale laughed. “I thought you were all business and no fun.” His expression changed. “It won’t be for long, Snow is close to retirement. Once he’s out it won’t matter. I can tell everyone we split up.”

Katniss thought it over. Really where was the harm? Gale would advance in his career and she’d get to attend a couple of fancy dinners, maybe even make some business connections for Abernathy, Inc. She’d be doing her bit to fight back against old fools like Coriolanus Snow who ran their companies as if it was 1885 instead of 1985. She had to admit the thought of pulling it off appealed to the rebel in her.

“Okay, Gale. I’ll do it.”

When Gale arrived at work the following week, he wore a gold band on his left hand. He had framed a couple of photos taken the previous Christmas that included Katniss with his family that he set out on his desk. He made a point of telling Bristel, the secretary with the biggest mouth, that he and his old girlfriend Katniss had tied the knot in Lake Tahoe over the weekend. He knew Bristel would spread the word among the other secretaries over lunch. Snow would definitely hear about it before the day ended.

He was right. Around 5:30 p.m. that evening, Snow phoned him to pass along his congratulations. “You must be sure to bring the your lovely wife Katniss to the dinner next week.”

As soon as Snow hung up, Gale dialed Katniss’ number. “I need my wife next Friday evening. There’s a big dinner to celebrate the merger. Mostly executives from my bank and National Trust, with some Acquisitions people like me thrown into the mix.”

“So soon?” Katniss was surprised. “Okay, I’ll go.”

It was almost 8 p.m. when Katniss left the office to head home to the studio apartment she shared with her 19-year-old sister Primrose, a sophomore at U.C.L.A.

“Studying hard little duck?” Katniss asked. Prim was hunched over the tiny desk crammed in the corner of their room, her long blonde hair hanging down her back.

“I need to keep my grades up if I want to apply for medical school,” Prim replied.

“Yeah, hard work is the only way to get ahead in this world.”

“Do you think it will ever get easier for us?” Prim questioned.

“I hope so,” Katniss sighed.

The two sisters had lived a comfortable upper middle-class childhood in Santa Monica until the their father had been killed by a drunk driver twelve years ago. Unfortunately their mother had no marketable job skills and had fallen into a deep depression. Within a year, the family had run through their savings and meager insurance money and ended up on welfare. They lost their home and moved into low-income housing in the San Fernando Valley. That’s where they had met the Hawthorne family.

Eventually their mother had been trained as a nursing assistant and was able to find employment in a retirement home. But it didn’t pay much, and Katniss and Prim had gone to bed hungry many times because money was needed for other things like rent, electricity, and water.

Katniss had resolved from her early teens that she would never let herself fall into the same trap as her mother. She would never be dependent on a man to take care of her. The only way she knew how to survive was to throw herself into a career of hard and relentless work.

But there was a problem. Something about her life didn’t feel right. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly. She liked her job most days, but she knew there had to be more to life than working. There had to be some other reason to get up every morning. She just hadn’t found it yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Thursday, Katniss was sitting at her computer writing a press release when she got a phone call from Haymitch Abernathy, the firm’s founder.

“Sweetheart, I have a vender coming in this afternoon who is trying to pitch his bakery. I don’t have time to meet with him. Get his business card and tell him we’ll be in touch.”

“Okay.” She hung up the phone. She knew Haymitch went out to lunch nearly every day drinking with clients. He rarely did much work after 1 p.m. She didn’t mind meeting with the vendor.

It wasn’t uncommon for various vendors to approach Abernathy, Inc. in the hopes of getting business. After all, the public relations agency was responsible for producing many events for its clients. Maintaining a list of dependable suppliers was an important part of the job.

Katniss returned to her press release. She was nearly finished when she heard tapping on the side of her open door.

She looked up.

A handsome blonde-haired, blue-eyed man, dressed in a dark suit was carrying a cake box into her office.

“Hello,” he introduced himself. “I’m Peeta Mellark from Mellark Bakery in Santa Monica.”

He looked at Katniss carefully, then looked at the nameplate on her desk. “I know you.” His face lit up like it was Christmas morning. “It’s been a long time Katniss Everdeen.” He smiled broadly.

Katniss blushed. She recognized him, too. Peeta Mellark had been in elementary school with her. He had been the cutest and nicest boy in the entire sixth grade. A memory flashed into her mind. A few weeks after her father’s death, she’d found a loaf of raisin and nut bread from his family’s bakery in her backpack when she got home from school. She always suspected Peeta put it in, but she couldn’t prove it. At any rate, the bread had fed her family for a couple of days because the cupboards at home were bare. Her mom had been too depressed to get out of bed.

He looks really good, she thought. Even better than when he was eleven.  
“So nice to see you, too,” Katniss collected herself. “You work for your parents’ bakery now?”

“Yeah, I got a business degree last year and I’m putting it to use. I’m trying to drum up some corporate business.” He pulled a small flat metal case from his jacket pocket, opened it, and handed her a business card.

“Thank you,” she said as she took it from his hand. Her hand briefly touched his for a second and she grew flustered yet again.

What is wrong with me?

She set the card down on her desk, while Peeta sat down in the chair across from her.

“I also brought a sample for you, too.” He opened the box to reveal a double-layer chocolate cake decorated with white chocolate shavings on top.”

“Oh.” Katniss moaned. “It looks delicious.”

Peeta grinned. “I’ll cut you a piece.” He set the cake box down on her desk. He pulled a plastic knife from his pocket and cut her a large slice. “Do you have a plate or something?”

Katniss opened her bottom desk drawer. She had eaten so many meals at this desk that she had a fully stocked kitchen inside it. She pulled out a paper plate and a metal fork. Peeta put the cake onto the plate and pushed it toward her.

Katniss grabbed the fork and began to eat. It was so rich and yummy, she didn’t want to swallow it right away. She wanted to savor it. She swirled the cake around her tongue and let the chocolate simply melt into her mouth. “This is so good,” she said after she swallowed her first bite. “What is this filling?”

“It’s ganache.”

Katniss took another bite. Still good.

“Do you want some?” she asked Peeta who was staring wide-eyed at her as she ate. “I have more plates in here.

“No, I’m fine,” he said.

Slowly, she finished eating the slice of cake. “I’m definitely telling Haymitch about this cake. Mellark Bakery will go on our supplier list. Don’t even worry about it.”

Peeta smiled. He pushed the cake box toward her. “Put this in your employee lunch room so the others can have some.”

“Oh, I was planning to take this home for myself,” she joked.

“I can make you another one,’ Peeta responded a little too quickly.

Flustered yet again, Katniss changed the subject. “Have you gotten any corporate business so far?”

“I have my first job tomorrow night,” he said. “In fact, I need to get back to finish up. They had a last minute request I need to take care of.”

He stood up. “It was great seeing you again Katniss. He reached across the desk to shake her hand. But instead of shaking it he held it tight.

“We should get together sometime…if you’re available.” He paused awkwardly and blushed.

“That would be nice,” Katniss replied. “And yes, I’m available,” she added shyly.

Peeta grinned again and left the office.

Katniss sat back into her chair and sighed. Where was I? Oh right, the press release. She got back to work. But it took a long time to finish writing it. She couldn’t stop thinking of Peeta.


	2. Fortress Around Your Heart (Sting)

Before leaving work for the night Katniss cut a large piece of the chocolate cake and wrapped it in foil. Prim will like this she thought and maybe I can have just a little bit more. She put the remainder of the cake into the break room refrigerator. 

When she arrived the next morning, the cake was already devoured. Everyone was raving about it. At the staff meeting, Haymitch told all the reps that Mellark Bakery should go to the top of their list as a dessert supplier. 

“You might want to use them for that record store opening, sweetheart,” Haymitch said, looking at Katniss. “Maybe they could design some kind of specialty cookies that look like little records.” 

Katniss nodded. Another chance to meet up with Peeta would be great. She should call him today.

But her day got busier and busier and she forgot she had to leave early. Gale was taking her to his work dinner tonight. I’ll call him Monday, she thought as she rode the elevator down to the parking garage.

She wasn’t exactly sure what to wear to the dinner, so she put on a pale blue dress with a sweetheart neckline and puffy sleeves that looked a bit dressy. She brushed her long hair so it hung down her back. Prim took a curling iron and made tiny ringlets along the ends of her hair.

“You look nice,” Prim said when she was done.

When Gale arrived though, he frowned. “Don’t you have something a little, well… sexier? You look like someone’s grandma in that outfit.”

He opened the closet that Katniss and Prim shared and began going quickly through the hanging dresses. “What about this?” He held out a red dress with a low-cut neckline.

“That was my Halloween costume last year,” Prim called out.

“What were you?” Gale asked.

“You don’t want to know,” Katniss answered. “Gale, are you sure you want your wife to look sexy? If your bank president is really conservative, wouldn’t you want your wife to look kind of demure?”

Gale thought for a moment. “You’re probably right,” he admitted. “I guess that’s why you’re a public relations professional.”

“And you’re a typical guy,” Prim added.

“Oh, I forgot, wear this.” Gale pulled a gold band out of his pocket. He handed it to Katniss who placed it on the ring finger of her left hand. 

Prim got up from her chair to look at the ring. “No diamonds, Gale? Kind of a cheap husband aren’t you?”

“I’m on budget,” he said. “But who knows with a new wife, maybe I’ll get a raise.”

“You should give me a cut then,” Katniss joked as they left the apartment.

In the car ride to the dinner, Gale went over the details of their fake relationship. He told her what he already said to the others at work and they agreed on a few general answers to questions they might receive from Gale’s co-workers. 

The more they talked, however, the more worried Katniss grew. This had started out as a joke in her mind to help her friend. But what if it backfired? What if she ran into someone from work or a former client? How would she explain a fake marriage? 

“Chances are it won’t happen. Los Angeles is a big city.” Gale said. “But you’re in P.R. You know how to lie. You’ll do fine.”

The dinner was held in a private dining room at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. A woman sat at a small check-in desk at the entrance to the dining room.

“Oh you must be Katniss,” she bubbled when Gale and Katniss approached. “Congratulations.”

“This is Delly Cartwright, the president’s secretary,” Gale introduced her.

Katniss nodded. “So nice to meet you.”

“You’ll be seated at table number five,” she told them. “Very close to President Snow.”

Gale nodded. He put his arm behind Katniss and guided her into the room. He leaned down to whisper to her. “This is great. I’ll have the ear of the president.”

Katniss smiled, but her stomach was getting queasy. This was mistake. How in the world was Gale going to get away with this? She should have never agreed to help him.

The guests stood around mingling before going to their assigned seats. Gale introduced Katniss to several people, so many that they all seemed to blur together. Fortunately no one asked anything specific from her. They simply congratulated her on the marriage. Gale kept his arm loosely draped over her shoulder, eventually steering her to the bar set up in one corner of the room. 

He asked for a glass of red wine for himself. Katniss ordered Perrier with lemon. She needed her wits about her if she was going to get through this evening successfully. Eventually, the guests went to their seats. Waiters brought out salads on trays, then later the main course, which was prime rib. 

Katniss was seated next to Gale on one side and Clove Ableman on the other. Clove spent most of the meal describing for Katniss every last detail of her wedding, the color of her bridesmaid’s dresses, her old boyfriend who crashed the party, even Cato standing on the train of her dress and tearing it. Katniss was relieved when Gale tapped her elbow and turned her attention to the other side of the table. Gale was deep in conversation with President Snow and his wife.

“What do you do?” Mrs. Snow, a middle-age woman with frosted brown hair, asked Katniss, as her husband continued to talk with Gale.

“I work in public relations,” Katniss said. She didn’t want to give away too much information about herself. 

“That sounds like fun. I was a teacher,” Mrs. Snow replied. “But of course I quit as soon as the babies arrived.”

Katniss nodded. She couldn’t imagine giving up her job for any reason. And she couldn’t imagine having a baby. It would only be another responsibility. Even though Prim was nineteen, Katniss still worried about her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss noticed that Snow was listening in to the conversation she was having with his wife. As soon as there was a break, he burst in.

“Where do you work?’

Katniss bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to tell him the truth, but she didn’t want to lie either. Anyway, she wasn’t a very good liar, contrary to Gale’s belief that all P.R. professionals were liars. The truth won out and she admitted. “I work at Abernathy, Inc.,” she said softly.

“Old Haymitch’s firm. We go way back.”

Her face grew warm. This is going to be a problem, she thought. She wanted to punch Gale but she couldn’t very well do that. They were supposed to be happy newlyweds. Instead she kicked his foot under the table. 

He looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Something wrong?” he whispered.

“Yes there is… I’ll be back in few minutes.” She didn’t know what to do so she followed her first instinct, which was to get out of there as fast as she could. Many people were already done eating so her exit looked perfectly normal. She left the dining room and headed in the direction of the ladies room she had noticed when she and Gale had first arrived.

The hallway outside the dining room was the staging area for the desserts that were to be served next. Katniss got a sinking sensation in her stomach when saw the trays filled with plates each holding a slice of chocolate cake filled with ganache and decorated with white chocolate shavings.

Suddenly a voice called out, “Katniss, funny seeing you here.”

She turned around. It was Peeta. He was dressed in white and had a baker’s apron on. He was smiling. “Are you working this event, too?”

“Sort of,” Katniss said weakly. She was trapped, but her survival instincts kicked in quickly. She reminded herself that Peeta didn’t know anything about Gale. He was only here because he supplied the dessert. There was no reason to be alarmed.

“So this is your first corporate job?” She tried to sound professional.

“Yeah. My friend Delly works for the president of the bank and she put in a good word for me.”

Katniss smiled outwardly, but inwardly she was growing more worried. “That’s great.”

She quickly changed the subject. “Everyone at Abernathy, Inc., loved your cake. Haymitch was interested in using you for a store opening we’re doing. I can call you Monday with more information.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” Then Peeta’s expression changed. He looked like he suddenly had a wonderful idea. “Hey, maybe we could talk about it over lunch. I’ll pick you up at noon.”

“Okay…that would work.” From the dining room, Katniss could hear the sound of a gavel. The dining room grew silent. “I better get back,” she said, excusing herself. “See you Monday.”

She went back into the dining room and sat down next to Gale. President Snow was standing at a podium located at one end of the dining hall. He thanked everyone for coming and praised the group for their hard work to make the merger happen.

“Now I’d like to recognize one of my own L.A. Federal employees who was recently married. Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss saw Peeta wheel in a cart that held a small two-tier wedding cake. He pushed the cart next to Snow, and then stepped to the side. 

Clove nodded at Cato and both began to stand, but quickly sat down when Snow called out “Gale Hawthorne, bring your lovely wife Katniss up here with you.”

Katniss was staring at Peeta when Snow made his announcement. A look of shock, followed by a flash of anger appeared on his face. But he quickly regained his compose. His face bore a tight smile. Katniss wanted to put her head down on the table and cry. Why did she ever agree to do this? But Gale was pulling at her arm and she slowly stood up. He put his hand on her back and guided her to the front of the room. 

“This happy couple eloped just a couple of weeks ago. Since none of us were there to see it, I thought it would be fitting to celebrate with a cake.” He looked at the two of them. “Why don’t you cut it?” 

The guests clapped. A few ‘whoops’ were heard. Katniss glanced at Gale. His face was flushed He seemed to be enjoying the attention. How many glasses of wine had he consumed this evening? She scowled. 

Snow looked at Peeta. “Do you have a knife?”

Peeta pulled a large knife off the cart and handed it to Gale before stepping away. Gale grabbed Katniss’ arm and pulled her to the side of the cake. He cut a small piece and held it up to feed her. 

Katniss shook her head. “No Gale,” she mouthed. 

“Oh come on Catnip,” he muttered. He put the cake up to her lips. Quickly she opened her mouth and took a bite. 

More cheers from the crowd. Gale then handed Katniss the knife and she cut a piece of cake. Gale opened his mouth wide to take a bite. Katniss aimed for his mouth, then at the last second, smashed the cake into the side of his face. The guests went wild with laughter. 

“You’ve got a fiery one there Gale,” President Snow laughed. 

Gale’s face grew red. Katniss saw the anger flash across it. 

But then everyone was banging their spoons against their water glasses. The banging continued. Katniss knew that sound. It meant the group wanted them to kiss. Great! She closed her eyes as Gale cupped the side of her face with his hands. His lips crashed into hers. He held his lips flush against her closed lips for almost 10 seconds before pulling back. The only emotion Katniss experienced was embarrassment. Kissing Gale was the same as if she had kissed her own arm. There was nothing there. 

Snow handed her a gift wrapped in silver paper. “Open it,” he encouraged her. 

It was a toaster. Loud laughter was heard throughout the room. Katniss was puzzled. What was so funny about a toaster? 

Gale leaned in close. “It’s a joke gift. Banks used to give out a toaster when you opened a new account.”

Peeta was gone by the time the event ended. Gale was tipsy, and Katniss insisted on driving his car. 

“This was a big mistake,” she told him. “President Snow is friends with Haymitch. If this fake marriage gets back to him I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“It will enhance your reputation, Catnip. You don’t want everyone to think you’re some frigid, career woman. That kiss was pretty pathetic.”

“It’s a good thing you’re drunk Gale because otherwise I’d stop this car and punch you.” 

“Don’t be such a grouch. You got a toaster, didn’t you?”

She didn’t complain to Gale about Peeta. It was kind of silly after all. She barely knew Peeta. But he had seemed interested. It had been a long time since she’d been interested in someone who appeared to return the feeling. And now that was over before it had even started. Plus she’d still have to work with Peeta. Oh no, what about lunch on Monday? 

 

Author’s Note: I used the last name of ‘Ableman’ for Cato and his wife Clove. I first read this in Knot Your Fingers Through Mine by monroeslittle. I’m not sure if it’s her invention or if she borrowed it from another writer, however I like it and want to give my thanks to whoever came up with it.


	3. Would I Lie To You (Eurythmics)

When Katniss walked into work on Monday morning, Haymitch yelled at her from the employee break room where he was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“We need to talk. Meet me in my office in five minutes.”

Katniss put her briefcase away, got a notepad, pen, and a cup of coffee before entering Haymitch’s office. She set her cup on the edge of his desk and sat back in her chair. Haymitch liked to have informal meetings with the public relations reps from time to time. She guessed he wanted an update on the record store opening she was managing.

“I heard a certain employee of mine got married a couple of weeks ago,” he stated. He stared at her carefully.

How did he find out so fast? Katniss grew warm. She knew her face was red. 

“Who told you?” She countered. 

“It doesn’t matter. I want to know why you’re keeping it a secret though.”

Katniss put her hands to the sides of her face and rubbed her temples. Finally she said softly, “I’m not married. It’s not true.”

Haymitch looked startled for a moment, then his face became impassive. “Are you pregnant?”

“No.” Her eyes opened wide. Does he think I’m pretending to be married to cover up a real pregnancy? She needed to tell him the truth. 

“I was trying to help out my friend Gale. He works at a really conservative bank and he was told that he had a better chance at being promoted if he was married. I agreed to be his pretend wife.” 

Haymitch frowned and shook his head. “I hope you realize there’s no turning back now. You might as well marry this boy for real if either one of you wants a career in this city. Coriolanus Snow may be old, but he’s extremely well connected and can be quite vindictive. He sits on nearly a dozen corporate and charitable boards. He could easily destroy both your careers if he finds out you’ve made a fool of him.”

Katniss swallowed hard. “Isn’t he near retirement though?”

Haymitch guffawed loudly. “He’ll never retire.”

A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

“Well, I’m glad you’re not pregnant at any rate,” Haymitch said. “You’re a good worker and I wouldn’t want to lose you. If you keep your nose clean, you might be able to survive this.”

Katniss returned to her office and called Gale. He wasn’t at his desk, so she left a message with the secretary asking him to call back. She could barely concentrate on her work that morning because she couldn’t stop thinking about Haymitch’s comments. Did Snow really have the power to wreck her career in Los Angeles? What kind of monster was he?

She was staring mindlessly at the computer when she heard a knock on her open door. She looked up. It was Peeta. He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked uncomfortable. 

“Oh, right.. lunch,” she mumbled. 

“Is this a bad day?” Peeta asked. 

She wondered if she should just make an excuse and cancel the lunch date. But he had come all the way here. She knew he was eager to pick up additional work for the bakery. She might as well get this over with.

“No, I just lost track of time.” She opened a desk drawer and pulled out her purse, and then stood up to leave. The phone rang at that moment and she picked it up. It was Gale. He was using the phone’s speaker box feature at his end of the line so his voice boomed into her ear. She pulled the receiver away from her head slightly because it was so loud.

“Hello sweet wife of mine, what did you call about?”

Peeta gave her a strange look. She knew he could hear Gale’s booming voice, as well. She pulled the phone back close to her ear. 

“I’ll have to call you back. I’m heading out for lunch now. Goodbye.”

She hung the phone up and walked around her desk. 

They were leaving her office when Haymitch, who was standing near the secretary’s desk, caught her eye. 

“Didn’t we just have a little conversation about keeping your nose clean?” He looked from Katniss to Peeta and glared.

Katniss scowled. “This is Peeta Mellark from Mellark Bakery,” she said stiffly. “We’re meeting about the record store opening.”

Haymitch stepped forward and shook Peeta’s hand. “That cake was delicious. My staff loved it. Good to have you on board.”

“Carry on sweetheart,” he said nodding at Katniss. 

They decided to eat at a small sandwich shop in the lobby of a neighboring building. Katniss told Peeta about the record store opening and about Haymitch’s ideas for the cookies that would resemble tiny vinyl disks. Peeta had some ideas for other baked goods as well, and Katniss took notes so she could pass along the information to Haymitch. 

The conversation quickly died out. Katniss knew she had to say something. But she wasn’t exactly sure what would be safe to say. She needed to know the nature of Peeta’s relationship to Delly. Because if she told Peeta that her marriage to Gale wasn’t real, she didn’t want him repeating it to Delly, who in turn would tell Snow. But she felt incredibly awkward bringing up the events of the dinner on Friday night. 

Peeta finally broached the subject. “Congratulations on your marriage.” His face was emotionless.

“Um, thanks,” she muttered. “How does your friend Delly like working at L.A. Federal?”

Peeta was puzzled. “Fine, I guess. She actually started out as a baker with us, but we had to let her go. She kept burning everything. Does your husband like it?”

Katniss bit her cheek. She wanted to tell him so badly. She didn’t want him to think she was married. She decided to risk it. “Can you keep a secret?”

Peeta frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t tell your friend Delly.”

“What? Why would I tell Delly?”

“Gale and I aren’t really married.” 

“Okay.” Peeta paused for a moment. He appeared confused. “Are you pregnant?”

“No!”

“Why would you pretend to be married then?”

Katniss knew this was sounding stranger and stranger. “Gale was told that only married men can get promoted at L.A. Federal. So he asked me to pose as his wife because he didn’t want to get married for real.”

“Why would you do it? Is Gale your boyfriend or something?”

“No, we’ve never…He’s like a brother to me. His family and mine are close.”

“Okay. But seriously, why would you do it?”

“I don’t know. It seemed like a harmless idea at the time… just a way to help a friend…but I didn’t anticipate the consequences. Somehow Haymitch found out. He says President Snow has so many connections in this town that he could ruin both our careers if he learns it isn’t true.”

“Your friend Gale’s behavior is kind of unethical.”

“Snow’s rules are unethical.” Katniss raised her voice. “Businesses don’t own their employees. If you’re a good worker, it shouldn’t matter whether you’re single or married.”

Peeta nodded in agreement. “But he’s in charge. So if you want to play in his sandbox, you have to follow his rules, or find somewhere else to play.”

Katniss frowned. She had lost complete control over this conversation. It was clearly time to end it, say goodbye to Peeta, and return to the office. She started to stand, but Peeta kept talking.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret, but I want something in return.” He smiled nervously at her.

“What?” Katniss sat back down and searched his face carefully. She wasn’t in the mood to make any more deals.

“Have dinner with me some evening.” Peeta flirted. 

Even with everything he’d just heard, he still wants to go out with me? Katniss was surprised, but pleased. “Are you blackmailing me?” She smiled shyly.

“Perhaps.” 

“Okay, I’ll allow it.” 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss returned Gale’s call when she got back from lunch. 

“I better not be on the speaker,” she told him when he answered. “You don’t want me to embarrass you lover boy.” She heard a click on the line and Gale’s voice sounded normal again. 

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Haymitch knows Gale. I guess Snow told him. Anyway according to Haymitch, Snow is a vindictive guy that will go out of his way to ruin both our careers if finds out the truth. I just wanted to warn you.”

“Alright, good to know.” Gale said. “Thanks for calling, honey.”

It was nearly 9 p.m. when Katniss left her office that evening. She had to stay late to finish the work that she hadn’t been able to focus on simply because of her worries that day. 

Prim was sitting on their bed painting her toenails when Katniss got home. 

“Some guy named Peeta called about an hour ago.”

“Wow, that was quick. I just had lunch with him this afternoon.”

“Is this more work stuff? You work too much as it is. You shouldn’t be giving out our home number for work stuff.”

“No, this is a bonafide date.” Katniss kicked off her heels. 

“You’re dating someone and you’re married to Gale? Man Katniss, you didn’t even have a boyfriend last week.”

“I know Prim. Isn’t it weird how life is sometimes?” Katniss undressed quickly and put on her pajamas. “Is there anything to eat around here? I’m starving.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss met Peeta for dinner near the beach on Saturday. She hadn’t been on a date in such a long time that it seemed strange to talk about anything other than work. Peeta wanted to know everything that had happened to her since the sixth grade. Katniss told him about her teen years in the San Fernando Valley, about her college years studying mass communications, and about Prim, her favorite person in the entire world. 

The only uncomfortable part of the evening was when Peeta had asked about Gale. Katniss told him for the second time that Gale was like her older brother. But she wasn’t sure if Peeta really believed her. In a way she couldn’t blame him. He had seen Gale kiss her at that stupid dinner. She definitely didn’t tell him that she was meeting Gale for brunch the next morning, along with Cato and Clove.

After they finished the meal, Katniss and Peeta hiked down to the beach, kicked off their shoes, and strolled in the soft sand along the waters’ edge. Later, he walked her back to her car in the restaurant parking lot. 

“Thank you Peeta, this was really fun,” Katniss said. “I had a good time.”

“So did I.”

She was standing next to the driver’s side door facing Peeta, when he put his hand under her chin, tilted her head upward and kissed her.

Definitely not like my arm, she thought. 

They broke apart for a moment, and then Peeta leaned into her, pinning her against the car. They continued to kiss until Katniss gently pushed him away.

“I really need to be going now.” Her face was flushed. 

She was so lost in thought as she drove that she forgot to turn on her radio. Instead, she hummed to herself all the way home.


	4. Money For Nothing (Dire Straits)

Katniss and Gale joined Cato and Clove for brunch midmorning the next day.

She had complained to Gale when he invited her. “Look I agreed to attend an occasional work function, not random get-togethers with your work friends.”

“He’s not my friend,” Gale said. “He’s my boss.”

“Well I don’t want this to become a social thing Gale. Cause we’re not really married, remember?”

She wished she had set him up with Madge sooner. She had to call that girl.

The restaurant sat in the foothills above Burbank. From its floor to ceiling windows, diners could overlook the city below. Oddly enough Katniss and Gale had eaten at this restaurant years ago with both their families when Gale had graduated from college. 

Cato and Clove were waiting for them in the entrance when they arrived. 

“Did you have any problems finding the place?” Cato asked as he shook Gale’s hand.

“No, we’ve been here before,” Gale said. “But not for a while. Anyway we grew up in the Valley.”

“You did?” Clove’s expression rapidly changed from surprised to smug. 

Katniss and Gale exchanged looks. Even though neither one of them lived there anymore they were tired of people who ridiculed the suburban atmosphere of the San Fernando Valley and made fun of the people who lived there. 

Katniss was ready to provide a quick retort, but a waitress had appeared to direct them to their table. They were seated in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. 

The restaurant was famous for its lavish brunch buffets. Once the waitress took their drink orders, both couples left the table to get in the buffet line. When everyone had filled their plates, and returned to the table, Cato looked at Gale’s and Katniss’ plates and smirked. Both were filled to near overflowing. “Are you two starving?” 

“Excuse me?” Katniss asked. What kind of fool would skimp at an all-you-can-eat buffet? Certainly not people who had once been poor and gone to bed hungry.

Gale gave her a warning look. “We have so much to do today we won’t be eating until really late tonight.” 

“Oh, what are your plans?” Clove asked. “Cato and I like to spend our Sundays picking out things for the house we just bought.”

Katniss put her fork down. “You bought a house? How wonderful.” She glanced at Gale. How could Cato and Clove afford to buy a house? 

“Yes, it’s a fixer, but we love it,” Clove said. 

“You’re still renting?” Cato asked. 

Gale nodded. 

“Well that will make it easier when you have to move up to Portland. At least you won’t have the bother of finding a tenant.”

“Move?” Katniss exchanged glances with Gale. He looked surprised. She glared at Cato. “What are you talking about?”

Gale leaned forward. He squeezed Katniss’ forearm, as if he had to hold onto something to ground himself. “You said I’d be making occasional trips to Portland to oversee the merger. You didn’t say anything about moving there.”

“Snow thought it would be better this way,” Cato said. “Easier to keep those National Trust folks in line.”

A stunned Katniss turned to Gale. “I can’t move up to Portland. I have a job. I take care of my sister.”

“We can talk about it later, honey,” Gale said, his emphasis heavy on the word `honey.’ He turned to Cato. “This is such a surprise.. I mean ..we just got married. Katniss has a great job. She can’t just give it up.”

“You could always get a job in Portland,” Clove suggested. “Or you could start your family.”

Katniss put her fork down. “I need to go.” She pushed her chair back from the table, grabbed her purse, and left walking quickly in the direction of the exit. 

“Excuse me,” Gale said as he stood up and bounded after Katniss. 

He caught up with her outside the door. He grabbed her waist from behind and turned her around to face him.

“Stop it Gale,” she said as she pushed at his chest. “I don’t want to play this game any more. This whole thing has spiraled out of control.”

“Don’t you see Catnip, this can be the way out. We’ll break up because you don’t want to move to Portland. Can you make yourself cry before we go back in? That would look really good. Walking out like that was genius.”

“You should be the one crying Gale,” she countered. “Because you’re going to need to find a new job after this one blows up in your face.”

She finally agreed to go back in with Gale, as long as he made some excuse so they could leave immediately. She didn’t want to spend any more time in the presence of that stupid Clove who had flippantly suggested she leave her job and start a family. Even if she really were married to Gale, she’d never do something like that.

The couple walked in the restaurant. Gale put his arm around her waist and steered her back to the table. 

“Sorry about that,” Gale said. “This news is really upsetting to Katniss. We need to talk about it together privately.” 

He opened his wallet and dropped some cash on the table to cover their share of the bill. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he nodded in Cato’s direction before guiding Katniss out of the restaurant.

The couple drove in silence for a while.

“How can they afford to buy a house Gale? Seriously, if we pooled our salaries we couldn’t do it.” 

“I was thinking the same thing. Maybe they got an inheritance. Maybe some relative gave them the down payment for a wedding gift.”

“Maybe. Or could Cato be stealing from the bank?”

Gale laughed. “If he is, he should have stolen a little more so he wouldn’t be stuck with a fixer.”

“You know breaking up with your new wife because she won’t move is going to make you look ruthless,” Katniss commented. “What kind of person puts his job before his wife?”

“Someone who wants to get ahead obviously. But I get your point. So what do you suggest I do Miss Public Relations?” he countered. 

She frowned. “At the moment I have to admit your idea is the best solution. Because really what other option is there? I personally want to end this in the quickest way possible.”

“Is being married to me that bad, Catnip?”

Katniss paused for a moment. There was something in Gale’s voice that worried her. Like he actually enjoyed their pretend marriage. She stared at his profile as he watched the road ahead. He was a nice guy. He deserved a real relationship.

“I have a friend I want you to meet. Her name is Madge.”

“I hate set-ups Catnip. I don’t have time for all that.”

“You had time for brunch with your fake wife. You can make time to meet my friend.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss called Madge that evening. She was a musician who played the keyboard in a local band. Katniss had met her years ago while in college. Madge had played the piano for the college choir that Katniss had joined. They both were busy now. Who wasn’t these days? But Katniss had always tried to keep in touch with her friend. 

She thought Madge and Gale would be a good match because in many ways they were the exact opposite. Dark-haired Gale was so intense and determined, while Madge, with her long blonde hair and flowery skirts, was easy-going and a little quirky. But until now, the timing never seemed right. Gale had always been so focused on work and Madge always seemed to be starting a relationship or ending one. Fortunately when Katniss called, Madge was in the middle of a dry spell.

“He’s a close family friend,” she said. “He’s very good looking and he has a kind heart.” 

“So why don’t you want him?”

“We were practically raised together. He’s like my brother.” She didn’t want to tell Madge about the fake marriage just yet. Madge would likely be as horrified as she was that in 1985 a person’s job advancement could hinge on their marital status, but the whole phony marriage thing might put her off. She knew Peeta wasn’t exactly thrilled with it.

“My band is playing Saturday night in a battle of the bands,” Madge said. “It’s at a roller rink in the Valley. When I’m not playing, I can skate. Maybe we could meet up there.”

“That sounds fun,” Katniss said. “I might bring along Prim and some others, too. It would be less pressure on both of you.” 

“Great, I’ll see you then.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gale Hawthorne was in strange state of mind when he arrived at work on Monday. He couldn’t believe that Cato had dropped such an important bit of work news on him in the middle of what was supposed to be a social gathering for two couples. He couldn’t blame Katniss for getting upset. He was upset too. He didn’t want to leave Los Angeles to live in rainy Portland. He needed to figure out how to get out of the move. 

It didn’t help that the Acquisitions department secretary had called in sick that day. All incoming phone calls were funneled through her. She was the gatekeeper that prevented the staff from getting calls from every failing bank that was looking for a buyer. 

After getting five calls in a row, Gale left his office to sit at the secretary’s desk. He was playing with her phone to see if there was some way he could reroute his calls to voice mail when Cato walked by.

“What are you doing?” Cato asked.

“Trying to stop all these calls.”

“Good luck with that,” Cato said, as he left the office.

Gale played with the phone for a bit longer. He thought he might have fixed the problem. He was just standing up when he noticed the secretary’s in-basket. Cato’s expense report was lying on top. Gale remembered Katniss’ comments about Cato’s finances and he was curious. What exactly was Cato expensing? He picked up the stapled sheet. On the very top page was a bill for yesterday’s brunch. 

I paid for our portion of the meal, Gale thought. Why would he be expensing it? 

He realized that since Cato had used that opportunity to pass along the information about the move, he probably considered it a business meeting. 

But he pocketed my contribution to the bill. Damn thief. He probably used my money to buy more junk for his new house.

He flipped through the other expense sheets in the pile. According to the reports, Cato had been dining out every evening courtesy of L.A. Federal. He even noticed that Cato had written ‘Gale Hawthorne’ in as one of the attendees of several of the nightly dinners. He’d never been at any of those dinners.

Katniss was right, Gale thought. Cato was stealing from the bank. Not enough to buy a house, but certainly enough to help furnish one. And Snow called him mature. Ha!

He had to wonder if Cato’s theft was limited to the expense reports or was there even more going on. He grabbed all the documentation he could find involving the merger between L.A. Federal and National Trust and locked himself in his office for the afternoon. He wanted to review the financial details more carefully.

Katniss called him around 6:30 p.m to tell him about Saturday night with Madge.

“So you’re setting me up with a hot rocker chick?” Gale laughed.

Katniss sighed. “She’s nice. You’ll like here. Did you hear anymore about the move?”

“No, but I have something better. You were right about Cato. He is stealing from the bank. He’s turning in false expense reports and I found some fishy numbers in the merger paperwork. If I’m correct, he could be more than fired. He could wind up in jail.”

“Be careful Gale.” 

Katniss didn’t have time to think much about Gale’s problems though because the record store opening was in four days. Although part of a chain, the store was the first the company was opening in Los Angeles. The corporate office in New York had hired Abernathy, Inc., because of its expertise in getting publicity in the Los Angeles market. However, they weren’t ready to give up all control of the publicity. So they sent one of the their own public relations’ staff to assist.

Tuesday morning, Ms. Effie Trinket waltzed into Abernathy, Inc. She was dressed in a black blazer and matching skirt. The shoulder pads on her jacket made her shoulders appear to be as large as a football player. Her red hair was teased so high that it made Effie appear at least three inches taller.

“Where is Haymitch?” she yelled at the secretary. “I have a schedule to stick to. We don’t have much time. The store opens in just 72 hours.”

Katniss heard the commotion from her office and went out to introduce herself to Effie. “Hi, I’m Katniss. We spoke on the phone.”

Effie looked her over carefully. “You’re too young. Where is Haymitch? He was supposed to get me someone with experience. Not some child.”

Katniss grew warm. “I’ve been with the firm for a year now,” she tried to explain, but Effie interrupted her. “Is he out drinking this early?”

Just then, Haymitch’s door swung open and he walked out to greet Effie. He put his arms around her and kissed his cheek. “My dear, Ms. Trinket, it’s a pleasure to see you again. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I missed you.” 

Katniss watched Effie turn bright red, almost as red as her hair color, and she wondered what Haymitch was referring to, but no explanation was given.

“Now Katniss is one of my top people. She has everything under control. Why don’t you come into my office and we’ll go over all the details with you.”

The next couple of days were a blur as Katniss checked and double-checked her plans, made what seemed like hundreds of phone calls, and escorted Effie all over Los Angeles so she could check out the new store’s competition. Early Friday morning she picked up Effie at the hotel and got to the record store at 7 a.m. They only had three hours until the official opening, but things were already underway as the manager and his staff completed the stocking of the store and the arranging of the displays. 

Peeta had already arrived and with an assistant was setting out a long table of baked goods, all circular in shape and decorated with black and white icing. There was also coffee and bottled water set up at a separate station. 

Katniss waved at Peeta, but she had no time to chat. She was checking off items on the clipboard she carried. Around 8:30 a.m. a group of musicians arrived. They set up their equipment on the roof of the building to entertain the crowds, similar to The Beatles last concert on the roof of their Apple headquarters building in 1969. A couple of photographers arrived and Katniss briefed them on the types of photos to take.

The president of the record company, Plutarch Heavensbee, arrived at 9:45 a.m. Effie went running toward him to reassure him that everything was under control. Katniss positioned the photographers to get a good shot of Plutarch, before stretching a fat ribbon across the opening of the store. There were about fifty people standing around at 10 a.m. sharp when the president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce introduced Plutarch. The chamber president gave a short speech welcoming the record chain to Los Angeles. Then Plutarch cut the ribbon. The customers streamed in. 

Katniss breathed a sigh of relief. At least this part was over. Now she had to deal with the media to be sure that the store opening made the local television news, the radio news, and daily newspapers. 

It was nearly 2 p.m. before things were winding down. Haymitch had already left with Plutarch to celebrate over a long lunch. Effie was instructing the store manager on how to do his job even better.

Katniss walked to the food table intending to get something to eat. She realized that other than a cup of coffee in the morning, she hadn’t eaten anything all day. She grabbed a shortbread cookie frosted like a record disk and took a bite.

“This is so good,” she told Peeta who stood behind the table. 

“Wow, you’ve been busy,” he said. “I can see you’re really good at what you do.”

She blushed. “Well, we won’t know how successful it is until we see the coverage the media gives the story. But I think we did okay, today. You’ve gotten a lot of foot traffic here, I see.”

“We went through 30 dozen cookies at least. Probably more of the tiny sausage rolls,” he replied. 

“That’s great.” Katniss put her hand to her forehead. She was starting to feel a bit light headed.

“Are you alright?” Peeta asked. “You look kind of pale.”

“I think I need to sit down.” She grabbed hold of the food table to steady herself.

Peeta ran out from around it and caught Katniss, as she started to fall into a faint.


	5. Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen)

When Katniss came to she was sitting on the edge of a folding chair. Peeta had one hand on her shoulder. His other hand was rubbing circular motions on her upper back. Effie was holding something under her nose that smelled like some kind of antiseptic.

Katniss tried to stand, but Peeta pushed her back down into the chair.

“You fainted Katniss, you need to sit for a bit.”

She grew warm with embarrassment. “Oh, no,” she muttered.

Effie pulled the foul smelling substance away. “Are you pregnant?” she asked.

“No!” Why did Effie have to ask that particular question? Especially in front of Peeta. After all people could faint for all kinds of reasons.

She sat there for a few minutes before Peeta would let her stand up. 

“You should probably eat more than a cookie,” he said. “Let me get you some lunch. My assistant can pack everything up. Is there anything else you have to do?”

“No.”

“You go. I’ll finish up here,” Effie said. She shook Katniss’ hand. “It was a pleasure working with you.” 

Katniss nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Have you ever fainted before?” Peeta asked Katniss while they were waiting for the pizza to arrive at their table.

“Not exactly,” she said. “I got really lightheaded during a choir rehearsal once. But I sat down immediately and the feeling went away.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor.”

“No, I’m fine. It’s because I forgot to eat. This has been a stressful week and it didn’t help to have Effie looking over my shoulder. I’m just glad it’s done. I can rest up over the weekend.”

She remembered about the skating party on Saturday. “Hey Peeta, if you’re not doing anything tomorrow night would you like to come roller skating with me?”

Peeta frowned. “That doesn’t sound very restful.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t think I’ve been skating since I was in elementary school. Why skating?”

Katniss explained about Madge’s band and that she wanted Gale to meet Madge. “Prim will be there, too.”

“So it’s actually a group-type thing that includes Gale?” Peeta asked.

“Yeah.” 

Katniss couldn’t read Peeta’s face. A flash of something passed over it. Was it jealousy? Anger? Frustration? She couldn’t tell exactly. He didn’t answer right away and she was sure he was going to decline the invitation, but then he answered.

“Okay.”

“Great, it will be fun,” Katniss said as the waiter set the pizza down on the table.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peeta picked Katniss and Prim up at their apartment the next evening. Katniss had warned Prim to be on her best behavior.

“I like this guy and I don’t want to scare him off. He’s already weird over the whole Gale thing.”

“Well, it is kind of weird Katniss,” Prim replied.

Katniss didn’t talk much on the drive to the rink because Peeta was talking to Prim about her college classes. When they got out of the car, Prim whispered to Katniss, “I like him too. Don’t mess it up.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Katniss whispered back.

The three of them waited outside the rink for Gale and his sister Posy. Katniss had encouraged him to bring along his 13-year-old sister so Prim would have someone to skate with.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As they approached Katniss and Prim, Gale noticed a familiar-looking blond-haired man talking to them. 

How do I know this guy? he wondered.

“Hi Catnip,” he said. As he hugged her, she stiffened up. He took a step back and glared at Peeta.

Katniss introduced the two. “Gale, this is Peeta Mellark. Peeta, this is Gale.”

The two men nodded to each other.

“How do you know Katniss?” Gale asked.

“We went to elementary school together,” Peeta said. “But more recently my family’s bakery has done some work for Abernathy, Inc.” 

A baker? A memory of Peeta dressed in a white apron handing him a knife to cut a small wedding cake flashed into Gale’s mind. This guy was at the L.A. Federal merger dinner. So clearly this guy knew all about the marriage thing. 

Gale was irritated. What game was Katniss playing? Was she throwing this guy in his face to force him to end the whole thing immediately? Why would she bring some guy she worked with here? Was she dating him? 

He hoped this Madge girl was attractive or else he was leaving immediately. He didn’t have the time or energy to play any more games. Not after the kind of week he’d had. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss immediately noticed the tension between Peeta and Gale. It was probably a big mistake to bring the two of them together. But she was hopeful that Gale would like Madge and that everything would fall into place because she regretted ever agreeing to be Gale’s fake wife.

After everyone paid for their admission to the rink, the group went inside and got into the line behind the skate counter. Katniss looked around for Madge. There were four band platforms set up, one at each corner of the oval rink. Madge was setting up her sheet music at the keyboard on the platform closest to the skate line. She was wearing a peasant blouse and a flowery skirt. Katniss marveled at how much her friend resembled singer Stevie Nicks. 

She tapped Gale’s shoulder. “There she is,” she said pointing her finger. 

Both Gale and Peeta turned to look. Katniss watched Gale’s face carefully. His expression remained noncommittal, but Katniss thought she saw a flicker of interest in his eyes. 

“Let’s get our skates, then I’ll introduce you,” she told Gale. 

It took another ten minutes before everyone had their skates and was able to sit down and put them on. Prim was the first to lace up her skates. Once on, she gathered everyone’s shoes and put them in a secure locker. 

Katniss turned to Peeta. “Let me introduce Gale to Madge, then we can skate.” 

He nodded. 

Katniss stood up and walked in her skates on the rubber floor. She grabbed Gale’s hand and pulled him over to the edge of the rink, behind the platform where Madge’s band was set up.

“Madge,” she yelled over the piped in rock music that was playing.

Madge turned her head around and caught sight of Katniss. Her eyes opened a bit wider when she noticed Gale standing next to her friend. Madge walked over to the rail that enclosed the skating area.

“I’m glad you could make it Katniss. Are you Gale?” Madge focused her attention at the dark-haired man at Katniss’ side. Gale smiled back at her. 

“When are you playing?” he asked Madge.

“We play the first set. But I have long break afterward, while the other bands play. Then we play one last time.”

“Great,” Gale said.

Katniss backed away from the couple as they made small talk. It looks like they’re hitting it off at least, she thought. 

She turned and walked back to Peeta who was sitting on a nearby bench. 

“Okay, that’s done. We can skate now.”

“I don’t know if I can.” Peeta said softly.

“I’ll show you. It’s not difficult.”

Peeta stood up and walked stiffly to the rink’s entrance. Katniss grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the wooden floor of the rink. 

“You need to move your feet,” Katniss said as she realized, about half-way around the rink, that she was simply pulling Peeta. His feet remained frozen in place. 

“I don’t know how to stop if I pick up speed,” he admitted. “I don’t want to crash.”

“You stop like this.” Katniss demonstrated by picking up her right skate and pointing the toe along the floor. “Just slow down a bit before you do this or you’ll fall on your face. If you feel like you’re out of control, you can always run into the wall.” She pointed to the padded wall that lined one side of the rink.

Peeta nodded. He moved his right foot forward, then left, then right again. He picked up some speed and began to glide. From behind, Katniss could see that he wobbled a bit. She followed him around the rink. He made six loops, before exiting. Peeta walked to the bench he was sitting on previously and sat down. Katniss followed him.

“You’re a quick learner,” she said, as she sat down next to him.

“You’re a good teacher. Do you skate a lot?”

“I haven’t skated for years,” she admitted. “But I did when I was a teenager. A rink by our house had $1 skate nights on Fridays. Everyone from my high school went.”

The DJ who was announcing the rules for the battle of the bands contest interrupted their conversation. He introduced Madge’s band, Lazy Saturdays. 

In addition to Madge, the band included three other members, a drummer, a guitarist, and a singer. The lights dimmed as the band began to play soft rock songs. Katniss and Peeta sat and listened to the mellow rock music. 

Prim and Posy skated past. Gale went flying by, weaving in and around the other skaters. 

“Wow, he’s good,” Peeta noticed.

“He’s showing off for Madge,” Katniss responded. 

Peeta laughed. “I don’t know if she’s impressed, but I certainly am.”

“Don’t be. Gale has the form, but not the control. He’s had some spectacular crashes. I just hope he doesn’t slam into the bandstand.”

There was loud applause when Madge’s band finished playing. The overhead lights were turned on again and the band members stepped off the platform and walked out of the rink.

Katniss walked over to hug her friend. “You were great.”

Peeta had followed Katniss and was standing next to her when Madge introduced the other members of the band. Thom, a slender man with a mullet haircut was the guitarist and leader; his wife Leevy, a brunette with big hair, was the singer; and the drummer was pudgy guy named Jackson. 

Gale exited the rink and joined the group as they walked to the refreshment stand to purchase sodas. Everyone wanted to try the New Coke brand soda that had been all over the news lately. 

“Too sweet,” said Peeta after taking a sip. “It tastes like cough syrup. I think I’ll stick with Classic Coke.”

Everyone agreed. They sat at a large table and talked soft drinks and other things quietly as the next band played. 

“It’s not so much about winning,” Thom explained to them about why the band had entered the music contest. “That would be nice of course. It’s more about getting our name out there.”

“The publicity aspect,” Katniss said. “I understand because I work in public relations.” 

“What kind of venues do you play?” Peeta asked.

“Small clubs, parties, a lot of weddings.” Thom answered. 

“The weddings are the craziest,” Leevy said laughingly. “We did one two months ago where the groom got into a big fight with the bride’s former boyfriend on the dance floor.”

“It was wild. Kind of like our wedding,” Leevy glanced at her husband and smirked.

Thom grinned back at her. “Yeah, only we didn’t have to call the police.”

“That because your mom is as good as having a bouncer.”

“Do you have a business card?” Katniss asked, drawing the couple away from their private conversation. Thom pulled one from his pocket and handed it to Katniss. 

“I’ll pass it along to my boss,” she said. “We hire bands occasionally for different events. In fact, we used one yesterday at a function.”

Thom excused himself from the conversation after a while. He said he wanted to talk to the rink’s manager. 

“Let’s skate some more,” Katniss whispered to Peeta.

“I was afraid you were going to suggest that,” he countered. “Okay.”

They walked back to the edge of the rink. The second band had stopped playing and the DJ announced that it was a couple’s skate now. Everyone else had to exit the rink.

Katniss grabbed Peeta’s hand and pulled him onto the skating floor. Already, there were couples zooming past them. “We can stay by the edge and take it slower,” she said. 

“That’s good because I don’t want to take you down with me if I fall,” Peeta said.

“You won’t fall. You’re doing fine.”

They skated slowly around the edge of the rink steering clear of the band platforms. Katniss sensed that Peeta was getting more comfortable after a few laps as he slowly picked up speed. 

They were just rounding a corner past the bandstand when a lone skater appeared out of nowhere and slammed into Katniss. Peeta immediately let go of her hand, but it was too late. She fell against Peeta and knocking him over onto his side and landing on his left leg. 

 

Author’s Note: New Coke was introduced in April 1985 and by July 1985, the Coca Cola Company had brought back it’s old recipe which they called Coca Cola Classic. New Coke tasted very sweet, almost syrup-like.


	6. I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner)

Somehow they were both able to get up, exit the rink, and hobble over to a bench. They were seated when Prim rushed over. 

“I saw the crash,” she said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay,” Katniss said. She turned to Peeta. Her brow was furrowed. “How is your leg? The one I fell on.” 

“It’s a bit sore.” He grimaced.

“Let me check it out,” Prim said. She put both sides of her hands on his left thigh and moved them slowly down his leg. She felt gently around his kneecap. “Does this feel tender?”

“A little, but it feels okay when I’m sitting,” he said. “It really hurt when I walked over here, though.”

“Try to walk on it now,” Prim said.

Peeta got up. He took a few steps forward, then returned to the bench. He frowned. “It’s not good.”

“You need to elevate your leg and ice it,” Prim said. She turned to Katniss. “We should probably leave. Let me find Posy and say goodbye first.” She scanned the rink looking for her friend.

“Tell Madge and Gale, too, if you see them,” Katniss called, as Prim walked toward the entrance of the skating floor. 

“I’m so sorry I fell on your leg,” Katniss apologized. This is awful, she thought. Will he even be able to drive his car? 

“It was an accident,” Peeta said. “And you’re not that heavy. Not much more than a sack of flour anyway.”

Katniss frowned. 

“That was meant to be a joke.” Peeta tried to cheer her up.

“I just feel really bad about it.”

“Don’t be, really it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” she sighed. “But I can’t change it now.”

A few minutes later Prim returned. “We can go. I said goodbye to everyone.” 

Peeta slowly limped out of the building. 

“Give me your keys,” Katniss said. “I’ll drive.”

Peeta started to argue against it, but Prim chimed in.

“It’s not safe for you to be driving a manual transmission with your leg in that shape.”

He pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Katniss. “Be careful, I’m still making payments on it.”

Katniss rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

She drove very slowly back to the apartment she shared with her sister. Prim exited Peeta’s car and got into Katniss’ car to follow them to Peeta’s house. 

“Where do you live?” Katniss asked.

“I’m house-sitting for my parents. You can take me there.” 

She followed his directions as she drove on the freeway for a couple of miles before exiting and traveling through tree-lined streets. She checked the rearview mirror periodically to be sure Prim was still behind her. 

A sinking feeling settled over her as she drove through what was once her old neighborhood. The houses, the street names, everything reminded her of her childhood. A life of ease and comfort, before her father died and everything had ended.

She wondered what type of person she’d be now if that Katniss Everdeen had survived. Probably very different from the person I am now. Her thoughts were interrupted when Peeta pointed out their old elementary school up ahead. 

“Lots of good memories there,” Peeta said.

“Some,” Katniss agreed. But the good ones were overwhelmed by the bad. Getting called out of class with her sister to learn that her father had been rushed to the hospital. Returning to school after the funeral and not knowing how to react to the attention of others. Sitting in class with an aching stomach because she and Prim had begun rationing the little food they could find in the house. She knew she could have told a teacher or some adult at the school about her mother. But then, she and Prim would have been removed from their home, maybe even from each other. She couldn’t bear that, not after the loss of her father. 

“Turn left at the corner,” Peeta directed. “Follow this street to the top of the hill. My parents live at the very top.”

“Okay,” Katniss shifted the car down into second gear as she drove up the steep road. 

“You can park in the driveway.”

At the top of the hill was a large Spanish-style house with an expansive front lawn. Even though it was dark, Katniss could see that the house was quite lavish. She pulled the car into the narrow driveway, turned off the engine, and put on the emergency brake. Prim parked Katniss’ car by the curb in front. 

“Thanks for the ride,” Peeta said as Katniss handed him his car keys. “I can take it from here.”

“Okay, are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Yeah.”

Prim, who had exited the other car, rushed to Peeta’s side. “Let’s get you inside and get some ice.” 

“That’s not necessary,” Peeta insisted. 

“Sure it is.” Prim began walking to the front door. Peeta frowned and limped after Prim.

“You really live here?” Prim asked. “This place is…huge.”

Peeta laughed. “This is my parents’ house. My place is about the same size as yours and Katniss’.”

“Where are your parents?” Prim asked.

Katniss shot her a look. “Too nosy,” she mouthed to Prim.

“They’re in the desert,” he answered. “My mom needs some rest.”

He opened the door and the two women walked in. Peeta followed and shut the door after turning on the entryway light. The living room looked like something out of a magazine. It was beautifully decorated with oversized white couches and chairs. The coffee table and side tables were made of oak. In the corner of the room was a large built-in bar that was fully stocked with a wide variety of liquor bottles on display.

“Do your parents have a lot of parties?” Prim asked, staring on the bar.

“No. That’s my mom’s personal collection.” Peeta sounded irritated.

“Oh,” Prim muttered. The tone of her voice changed. “Where is the kitchen so I can get some ice?”

“In there.” Peeta pointed off to the right. 

Prim left the room. 

“Thanks for humoring her Peeta,” Katniss said. “She’s only been pre-med for a year, but she takes it so seriously.”

“I can see.” 

He looked a little uneasy and Katniss wondered if his leg was hurting.

“Maybe you should take something for the pain.”

“I might.”

“Look if it hurts too much, please call me. I can drive you to a doctor so you can get it checked out.” 

Peeta smiled. “I’ll be fine, but thanks for the offer.”

“Look what I found,” Prim said as she walked into the room holding a plastic bag filled with ice. Next to Prim was the world’s ugliest cat. 

“He hissed at me the entire time I was getting the ice,” Prim said.

Peeta laughed. “Buttercup is my mom’s cat. He guards Mom’s ice with a vengeance.”

“Don’t worry, I refilled the ice trays,” Prim replied. “Last week I dissected a cat,” she added. “It was very interesting.”

“We really don’t want to hear about that Prim,” Katniss added. “We should go now.”

Prim handed the bag of ice to Peeta and gave him some final instructions, before walking to the door.

“Goodnight,” Katniss said. She kissed Peeta’s check and followed her sister out. 

As Katniss drove herself and her sister home, Prim chatted away. “Peeta’s mom must have a serious drinking problem. She’s probably at the Betty Ford Center drying out.”

“Prim that’s a terrible thing to say,” Katniss said. “You don’t know that.”

“Judging from the size of her alcohol collection, I’d say that’s an accurate guess.”

Katniss didn’t say anything. She suspected Prim could be right. But she’d think about that later. Instead she was wondering whether Peeta was angry with her for falling onto his leg. He hadn’t really encouraged them to come inside. Prim had been kind of pushy, in a nice way of course, about going in. 

She felt terrible about the skating accident. Like she owed him big time now. She hated owing people.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peeta lay on the white couch with an ice pack sitting on his left leg. He was a terrible skater and now he was injured. Katniss must think he was such a klutz. Guys twice her size had pinned him in high school wrestling meets without injury and now she falls on him and his leg is injured. 

He’d only agreed to go because he was flattered that Katniss had invited him. If she was introducing him to her sister and some of her friends, it must mean she liked him. It was so amazing that the girl he had such a huge crush on all throughout elementary school would suddenly reappear in his life. And she was even prettier than he remembered.

He glanced around the large living room. He could tell how the atmosphere had changed once the two sisters noticed the vast amount of alcohol displayed in the corner of the room. He was embarrassed they saw it. He hoped it wasn’t a painful reminder to them of how their father died. Because it certainly was a painful reminder to him about the way his mother lived. He shouldn’t have even brought them into the main house. He should have taken them into the guest house in the back where he lived. But there was no ice in his house at all. Anyway he was worried it would make him look weird to still be living in his parent’s backyard, especially when Katniss and her sister were out on their own.

Of course he had his reasons. With his mom’s problems it was easier this way. Between him and his dad they could keep her in check. It’s not like his brothers were much help.

He sighed. He couldn’t figure out exactly where he stood with Katniss Everdeen. He didn’t want her pity. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was late when Katniss and Prim got home. The phone was ringing when they opened the door and Katniss ran to answer it. 

Is it Peeta? she wondered. But when she picked up the phone, her mother’s voice called out, “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried.”

“What’s wrong Mom?” Katniss asked. It was unusual for her mother to be this upset without cause.

“There was another murder by The Night Stalker just a few blocks from your apartment tonight.”

Katniss shivered. Los Angles had been experiencing a rash of serial murders over the past few months. Someone was breaking into the homes of mostly women, then raping and killing them. The local newspapers had dubbed the killer, “The Night Stalker.” Initially the killings were done months apart, but the killer was getting bolder now. Murders were occurring more frequently. Even people who didn’t follow the news much were beginning to talk about it. The weather was getting warmer, and many people in the Los Angeles area were afraid to keep their windows open at night.

“We’re fine,” Katniss told her mom. “Prim and I were out skating. We just walked in the door.”

“Well lock your door and windows, he could still be in your neighborhood.”

“We will Mom.” 

Sunday afternoon, Katniss called Peeta to see how he was doing. No answer, but she wasn’t surprised. She only had the phone number for his place, not his parent’s house. She tried calling Gale to see what he thought of Madge. But Gale wasn’t home either. She called Madge. She was out too. She left a message on all of their answering machines, then told Prim she was going out for her usual Sunday hike. 

Prim nodded. She sat hunched over the desk, memorizing the names of every muscle in the human body.

Katniss drove her car to a residential neighborhood that bordered the 405 Freeway and parked. There was a hole in the fence that ran alongside the freeway where she could gain access to the Santa Monica Mountains. She crawled underneath a loose part of the chain link. She took care not to scratch her bare legs or snag her long braid in the sharp end of the metal. Once she was under, she walked over the rocky terrain to the start of one of her favorite trails. It led back toward the Valley. 

She occasionally encountered runners and even some mountain bikes on it, but today it was empty. She was glad. The solitude of the surroundings helped to clear her mind. 

Much as she enjoyed her job, it was here in the outdoors that she truly felt like herself. In the back of her mind was the nagging fear that over time she’d eventually turn into another Effie Trinket, a high-strung, annoying woman who drove everyone crazy in her attempt to manage people and events. 

She hoped that wouldn’t happen.


	7. A View To A Kill (Duran Duran)

Katniss sat in her office Monday morning thumbing through a stack of literature about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a blood-borne illness that was getting a lot of attention in the news. A local health agency had hired Abernathy, Inc. to coordinate a community outreach program to inform the public about it.

This project was different from all the others she’d worked on. Instead of organizing an event, she’d be focusing on an educational campaign. The topic was an adult one and she wasn’t sure exactly how to approach it since the virus was mainly transmitted via sex. Although the evidence couldn’t be completely ruled out yet that it could also be transferred through saliva as well.

She thought back to her kisses with Peeta. How well did she really know him? How well did she know anyone she’d ever dated? Anyone Prim dated? A shiver ran down her back. This damn disease was going to kill everyone. She’d have to talk with Haymitch further. 

Maybe we should do it over a drinking lunch, she thought. I think I need more than coffee to get through that conversation.

The phone on her desk rang. It was Gale returning her call from yesterday.

“We need to meet for lunch today.” He was insistent. “Same place as last time. Noon okay?”

He was waiting when she got there. They quickly ordered their food, before talking.

“I’m moving up to Portland this weekend,” Gale said.

“You have to move so soon?” Katniss lowered her voice. “Why? I thought you said Cato was stealing from the bank. Did you talk to Snow about it?”

“It’s a lot bigger than padding his expense reports Catnip.” Gale leaned across the table. He voice sounded serious. “There are high-level shenanigans going on at L.A. Federal. Snow knows all about it, in fact, he’s very involved. I contacted regulators from the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.”

Katniss gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, they were pretty interested when I showed them the stuff I copied. Anyway they want me to play along and feed them more documents. If I go to Portland, I can check out stuff up there and pass along anything suspicious to them.”

“So what about.. me.. your wife? What are you telling L.A. Federal?”

“You’re working on a big project that only you can handle. You can’t move just yet.”

Katniss laughed. “You should see what I’m working on. It almost makes me want to go to Portland. By the way, what did you think of Madge? Obviously my timing was way off if you’re leaving town.” 

Gale smiled sheepishly. “Well, I have to admit you might have been right about that one. We’re having dinner tonight.”

“That’s great.”

“So what’s with you and the baker? Did you break his leg or something?”

Katniss blushed. “Prim thinks it’s a sprain.” 

“Are you dating?” 

“Sort of.” 

“Is that why you’re so eager to end this thing?” He pointed to the gold band on his finger.

Katniss frowned. “Are you planning to tell Madge about our fake marriage?”

Gale looked like a creature caught in a snare. “Now why would I do that?” he muttered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Tuesday morning, Madge called Katniss. “I have to say a big thank-you for introducing me to Gale.”

“So things are going well?” 

“Yes, I’m seeing him again tonight.” Madge giggled.

“Uh.. great.” Katniss replied. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wednesday afternoon Gale called. “National Trust is putting me up with in a furnished condo in Portland. Here are the phone numbers I can be reached at.” 

Katniss wrote down both his new office and home telephone numbers.

“I heard you saw Madge last night.”

“Yeah, we’re getting together tonight, too.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was Thursday and Katniss still hadn’t heard anything from Peeta. Maybe he was still at his parents’ house and hadn’t returned home to check his phone messages. She hoped he wasn’t angry with her for the skating accident. But she was surprised that he hadn’t called anyway just to let her know how his leg was, after all he knew she was concerned.

She debated calling him at his work number. She didn’t want to look pushy. Maybe he had decided he wasn’t interested in her after all. She didn’t want to look like some desperate woman who was chasing him. 

After spending the entire morning supposedly working, but in reality pondering whether or not to call him, she decided to call Peeta at work. She’d keep the conversation short and businesslike. If he seemed disinterested, she’d make an excuse and hang up immediately. At any rate, she’d play it cool.

She closed the door of her office and called Mellark Bakery that afternoon. A woman answered. Her voice was soft and breathy. Katniss pictured a magazine pinup at the other end of the phone. Her stomach lurched. She imagined the bakery being staffed by a bevy of beautiful woman. No wonder Peeta wasn’t calling back. 

Calm down, she reminded herself. You make dozens of calls every day. This is no big deal. It took a while until Peeta got to the phone. He sounded harried when he said “hello.” 

“How are you doing?” she asked him. “How’s your leg?” I’m bothering him, she thought.

He sounded more relaxed when he answered her. “A lot better. I found an old pair of crutches around my parents’ house and I’ve used them for the past few days.”

“Are you able to drive?”

“Yes, I borrowed my mom’s car. It’s an automatic.”

“Good.” She didn’t know what else to say. She should probably end the call right now. In the background, she heard someone shout Peeta’s name.

“Listen, I have to go,” he said. “We’re kind of swamped at the moment. With my dad out of town, I’m the only decorator, and I have six wedding cakes to do by Saturday.”

“Oh, sorry to bother you,” Katniss said. She was embarrassed. 

“You don’t have to apologize Katniss. It’s never a bother to talk to you. I’ll call you back as soon as work lets up. I promise.”

Katniss hung up. What was wrong with her? She was acting like a love-sick girl in junior high. 

She threw herself into her work. Friday morning she met with Haymitch to discuss the A.I.D. S. work project, but she found herself stumbling over the words.

“It’s an educational campaign sweetheart,” he said. “They all follow the same pattern – press releases to the media, public service announcements, maybe some kind of public event to draw attention to the topic. It’s exactly the same as if you were promoting the benefits of cauliflower. There’s really no difference in how you handle it.”

“Okay,” Katniss replied. “But still…”

Haymitch guffawed. “Are you embarrassed because of the sexual aspects that must be dealt with in this educational campaign?”

He stared at her for so long that she felt herself grow warm. “So the girl who pretends to be married is pure. Interesting.” 

Where exactly was he going with that comment? Katniss thought she knew and she didn’t like it at all.

“I’m not as pure as you think,” she countered back at Haymitch. But her face was getting red now. She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her coffee mug from the edge of his desk.  
“I have to go,” she said, as she abruptly left his office, spilling a portion of her coffee onto the carpet in her haste.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday morning Katniss awoke to the shrill sound of the telephone ringing. She glanced at the clock face, which read 8 a.m. Who could be calling so early? 

The telephone sat on the narrow bar ledge that divided the bedroom/living area from the tiny kitchenette. Katniss listened as the rings continued. She knew that after five rings, the answering machine would pick up the message. She continued to lie in bed as she heard Prim’s voice saying to leave a message. She was too tired to get up. 

But she jumped out quickly stumbling toward the phone when she heard Peeta’s voice. “Are you there Katniss?” He sounded worried.

She picked up the receiver. “I’m here,” she mumbled as she fumbled with the various buttons to turn off the machine.

“Did I wake you?”

“Yes,” she admitted.

“Sorry, I’m a morning person from working in a bakery all my life. I forget that everyone isn’t. So you haven’t seen the newspaper or watched television or anything?”

“No.”

“Well, there’s some bad news in it. Those people from your friend’s band, Thom and his wife…well, they were murdered by The Night Stalker last night.”

Katniss’ heart raced as he spoke. She glanced across the room and watched Prim roll over in her sleep. She envied her peacefulness. She couldn’t respond.

“Katniss, are you there?” he questioned.

“Yes.” Her mind was numb. She didn’t like hearing shocking news like this. Even though she had only met the couple a week ago and barely knew them, in her mind she was immediately back in the roller rink sitting at the table drinking soda and talking with Thom and Leevy. She still had his business card in the back pocket of the pants she’d worn that evening.

Quickly she pulled herself together. “This is awful. Thanks for letting me know Peeta. I really need to call Madge.”

She ended the call quickly and dialed her friend’s number. But it rang and rang until finally Madge’s machine turned itself on. Katniss left a brief message. Prim was awake now and Katniss shared the grizzly news, before getting into the shower. 

When she left the bathroom, wrapped in a large bath towel with her wet hair dripping down her back, Prim was watching the local news on their tiny black and white television. The picture was fuzzy, and Prim played with the rabbit ears on the top of the set to get a clearer picture. 

But Prim turned off the set when the reporter mentioned the torture and rape of the victims. “This is so sick,” Prim said.

Katniss’ face was hard. She wanted to comfort Madge. She knew her friend had no family in California. Then she remembered – Gale. Madge and Gale had gone out several times over the past week. She grabbed her purse and found the number of Gale’s new residence in Oregon on a slip of paper. She dialed it.

She woke Gale up, just like Peeta had woken her up. Gale was horrified when he heard the news.

“Madge and I had dinner with them Friday night,” he groaned. “They’re like family to her. She’s going to be a mess.”

“Do you know where she might be?” Katniss asked him.

“She plays the organ on Sunday mornings at a church in Glendale,” he said. “She might be there.” Katniss wrote down the name of the church and ended the call. 

Meanwhile Prim had pulled out The Thomas Guide, a book of detailed maps for Los Angeles County. She pinpointed the church on the map, folded back the book to the page indicated and instructed Katniss how to get there.

Katniss dressed quickly in a long-waisted blue print dress. She put on stockings and low heels. She combed her long hair straight down her back. It was warm out and her hair would be dry before she even got to Glendale. 

“If Madge calls, get a number where I can reach her,” she told Prim before leaving.

Katniss easily found the church in Glendale. It was a large building with a brick façade. The parking lot was jammed, so she parked on a nearby street. The service was underway and most seats were taken. Katniss stood in the back until she saw a space at the end of one of the aisles. She quickly sat down. The organist and choir were seated at the front of the church. She saw Madge sitting at the organ. Her friend was biting her lip and scanning the sheet music.

Katniss sat through the long service and sang the hymns along with the congregation. She hadn’t been to church since she was a young child, but she enjoyed the calmness and peacefulness. 

Silently she said goodbye to Thom and Leevy, thanking them for sharing their music with her. For a few moments during the service Katniss even forgot why she had even come to the church, but then the organ would play and Katniss would stare at her friend and remember.

Does she even know? Katniss wondered. It’s possible she doesn’t. 

She hated the idea of being the bearer of bad news. She didn’t know exactly how Madge would respond, but Gale thought it wouldn’t be good.

Finally, the service ended. The congregation streamed down the main aisle. Katniss walked up the aisle carefully, avoiding the people who were leaving. Finally she got to the altar area. She climbed the two steps up to the organ platform. Madge was packing up her sheet music into a leather briefcase. She noticed Katniss out of the corner of her eye and turned her head.

“Do you know..” Katniss started.

Her friend’s face crumpled. Katniss rushed forward to hug her. She could feel Madge’s tears on her shoulder as her friend’s body began to shake with sobs. Katniss held her for a long time, until Madge’s cries ceased. A few people had gathered near them. When Katniss pulled away, the young pastor stepped forward. 

“Can I help..”

Katniss quickly explained that Madge’s friends were the most recent victims of the serial killler’s deadly rampage. The pastor whisked both women into his office and talked to them for a while. Katniss sat in silence, but Madge nodded her head fervently as the preacher quoted some passages from the Book of Psalms in an attempt to comfort them.

After a while they left. Katniss agreed to follow Madge to her apartment for some tea. 

“I can’t believe it,” Madge said as the two women climbed the apartment house stairs. “When I turned the radio on this morning, I nearly fainted. I wanted to call Gale, but it was so early and we were talking on the phone so late last night.. I didn’t want to wake him up.”

“He already knows,” Katniss said. “I called him to see if he knew where to find you.”

Madge unlocked the door and Katniss followed her inside. Katniss loved Madge’s apartment. It was decorated with quaint vintage finds and had a 1930’s sensibility about it. It was nothing like Katniss’ and Prim’s place which was furnished with items found next to the garbage cans on trash day. 

Madge set her kettle on the stove to boil water for the tea and motioned for Katniss to sit at her dining room table. 

“It’s awful to say, but I didn’t only lose my friends, but I lost my job, too.” Madge pulled a tissue from the pocket of her skirt and dabbed at her red-rimmed eyes. 

Katniss listened to her friend talk about Thom and Leevy for a long time. She was nearly done with her tea, when Madge began to talk about Gale.

“You were right. He is different. He’s smart and he’s kind. I still can’t figure out why you didn’t want him.” She looked at Katniss carefully. “Did you two ever date?”

Did Gale mention the fake marriage? She didn’t think Madge was testing her. She only looked curious.

“No, we never dated, ever,” Katniss said. “It would have been too weird. Our moms are good friends and our families celebrate all the holidays together. Gale’s the closest thing I have to a brother.”

“Well, I guess I got lucky then,” Madge said sweetly.

The princess-style telephone attached to the kitchen wall rang and Madge stood up to pick up the receiver.

From the tone of her friend’s voice, which got softer and a tad giddy, Katniss could tell it was Gale on the line. When Madge told the caller, “she’s here right now,” Katniss knew it was.

Katniss waved at Madge and mouthed, “I’m going now. Call me if you need anything.” She let herself out of the apartment.

 

Author’s Note: Although AIDS existed prior to 1985, it wasn’t until that year that it finally gained widespread public attention with the revelation by actor Rock Hudson that he had AIDS. The August 15, 1985 issue of People published a story that discussed the virus in the context of his sexuality. At that time, however, while scientists knew the HIV virus could be passed along via sex, they also believed it could be transmitted via saliva while kissing. (This was later proved false. The concentration of the HIV virus is too low in saliva to pass it along.) This false information, however, curbed the behavior of many in the general public who didn’t want to get an illness that was a death sentence at the time because there were no drugs available yet to successfully treat it.  
On another note, The Night Stalker was a serial killer who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the summer of 1985. He was caught August 30, 1985. He died while awaiting execution on death row on June 7, 2013. I do not use his real name, as he does not deserve any publicity for his heinous acts.


	8. Can't Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon)

When Katniss arrived home, Prim was sitting on the bed flipping through the Sunday Los Angeles Times. 

“I got one from the news rack in the front of the building,” she said. “I wanted to see if there was any more information that they weren’t mentioning on television.”

Katniss nodded. Even though keeping on top of the news was important for her work, she didn’t get home delivery because Abernathy Inc. subscribed to newspapers from all over the country. She did all her newspaper reading in the office. It was considered a part of her job.

Katniss decided she didn’t want to read the story about Thom and Leevy. She didn’t have to anyway because Prim told her all the gory details. Finally she had to tell Prim to stop talking. 

“I don’t want to hear anymore.”

Prim was silent for a few minutes before speaking.

“Peeta called. He wants you to call back.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I guess I forgot,” Prim muttered, as Katniss dialed the phone.

Peeta picked up the phone after the first ring. “Are you okay?” he asked after hearing Katniss’ greeting.

“Yes, I was able to meet with Madge. She’s upset, of course. I just wanted to be there for her. She doesn’t have any family in the state.”

“You’re a good friend.” 

“Um…not really. I kind of don’t know what to do… but I thought she’d need to talk with someone.” Her voice trailed off. 

“Do you have any plans for this afternoon?” he asked.

Without thinking she blurted out, “I was going to go hiking. Do you go with me?” Then she remembered his injury – the one she caused. “Sorry, I forgot about your leg. We can do something else.”

Peeta laughed. “Actually my leg is a lot better. But hiking? It won’t be like skating will it?”

“There a few rocky parts of the terrain, but it’s relatively flat. I don’t think there’s much of a chance to get injured.” But then she wondered if what he was really asking was if this was a group activity. She didn’t have time to ask what he meant because he quickly replied.

“Okay, how about if I pick you up in an hour?”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peeta arrived with a white paper sack in his hands. “I’m sorry I woke you up so early this morning,” he apologized, as he handed her the bag.

Katniss raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t have to bring me something.” She opened the bag to find several cheese buns inside. She pulled one out and took a large bite. “But thanks,” she mumbled as chewed. 

“I want one, too,” Prim shouted. She hopped up from the bed where she had laid out her biology notes and grabbed the bag from Katniss. “Thank you Peeta,” Prim pulled another one out.

“Don’t eat them all,” Katniss warned her sister as she and Peeta left the apartment. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss offered to drive since she knew the way. Peeta looked puzzled when she parked at the end of a residential cul-de-sac and began walking up the steep dirt hill between two houses carrying water bottles.

“Isn’t this private property? he asked.

“Probably, but no one’s stopped me yet.” She walked up to the edge of the chain link fence and lifted it as high as she could. 

“You need to slide under here to get to the trail.” She sat down on the ground, and rolled the water bottles underneath, before crawling underneath herself. She stood up and lifted the fence up from the other side. Peeta looked around carefully at the back of the two houses before sliding under it as well. 

Katniss brushed the dirt off of her t-shirt and cargo shorts. Peeta did likewise, wiping his t-shirt and shorts clean. Katniss picked up the two water bottles and handed one to Peeta. 

Then she began climbing the medium size rocks to get to the trailhead. Peeta followed her. She reached the flat terrain first and waited patiently for Peeta.

“How is your leg?” she asked.

“It’s alright.”

“Good.” He looked to be walking normally, so she set off down trail. Peeta followed at her heels. 

It was nearly 3 p.m. and the sun was warm overhead. They walked about five minutes before stopping to drink from the water bottles.

“Do you walk here often?” Peeta asked as he screwed the top back onto the water bottle.

“I try to walk every weekend, when I can,” she said.

“How did you find out about this place? It’s very peaceful out here. When I’m driving down the 405 I never imagined what was on the other side of the fence.”

Katniss smiled. “It is nice.” She paused for a moment and looked around. “When I was in high school people would come out here to drink. There’s a hole in the fence on the Valley side, too.”

Peeta looked at her strangely.

“I wasn’t drinking,” she said quickly. “Gale was the one who told me about it. We would go hunting out here.”

Katniss began walking again. Peeta stepped up beside her.

“Hunting? For what?” 

“Animals. We got a couple of deer.”

“Isn’t it illegal?” 

“Only if you’re caught.” 

“What did you use.. a gun?”

“No,” she laughed. “Do you think everyone in the Valley has a gun?”

Peeta blushed. He didn’t mean to imply that the Valley was full of rednecks and gang members like the stereotypes held.

“We used bows and arrows.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, we were pretty good, too.”

“Obviously, if you got some deer.”

“Why did you stop hunting with Gale?”

Back to Gale again, Katniss thought. “I got a job and ended up working a lot,” she explained. 

“Where did you work?”

“First, Carl’s Jr., then Taco Bell, later In-N-Out Burger.”

“There’s a theme there.” Peeta smirked.

“Hey, I was hungry.”

“I shouldn’t talk. The only place I’ve ever worked is at my family’s bakery.”

Katniss turned to look at him. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I was probably six when my dad put me to work decorating cookies in the back.”

A sudden memory came to Katniss. “Peeta, did you put a loaf of bread into my backpack in the sixth grade? I found a loaf from your family’s bakery in my backpack one day after my father died.”

Peeta didn’t answer for a minute. He looked off into the distance at the trail ahead.

I shouldn’t have said anything, Katniss thought. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe it was and he’s embarrassed.

“Yeah, that was me,” he finally muttered. His face looked a little pinker, but maybe his skin was starting to burn in the sun.

“Why?” 

“You know why.”

Katniss slowed down and shook her head. She stared at Peeta whose skin appeared to be turning even pinker.

“I thought you might be hungry,” he said. You stopped bringing lunch.”

Katniss remembered. She had been skipping lunch and giving all the food to Prim. She was hungry. But why would Peeta notice if she ate lunch or not?

“Well, thanks. I was…Prim and I both were. My mom sort of lost it for a while.” Her voice dropped off and Katniss and Peeta walked in silence for a few minutes.

“What’s that?” Peeta asked, pointing to the path ahead. About twenty feet away, what appeared to be a stick lay across the path.

Katniss put her arm out to stop Peeta. “It’s time to turn around. That’s a rattlesnake. I don’t want to mess with it right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, there are a lot of them out here.”

“Okay.” Peeta looked around cautiously as if another snake would appear at any moment.

They turned back on the trail heading toward the car.

“This has been a really weird day,” Katniss started. “I can’t believe what happened to Thom and his wife. They were only a few years older than us.”

“I know,” Peeta murmured. “It’s tragic.”

They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes. 

“It makes me wonder,” Katniss said. “What really is the point of trying to succeed if some deranged person can come along and just take everything from you?” She thought of her father. That’s what happened to him.

“You can’t think like that or you’d never accomplish anything in life,” Peeta said. “At least they were being true to themselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“They were doing work they loved. They were in love. They were enjoying their lives,” he said.

Katniss stopped and stared at Peeta. “That makes it even worse.”

“I think it would have been worse if they’d been unhappy. We only get so much time Katniss, why waste it?”

Katniss nodded, lifted up her water bottle, and drank greedily. The heat was beginning to bother her. 

“Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting my time at my job,” she admitted. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye wondering what he’d think of her comment. He appeared puzzled.

“I’ve seen you work. You’re good at what you do.”

“I know, but really the work is kind of shallow. Nothing is real. Everything is so contrived. I set up events that become fake news stories so that businesses don’t have to pay for advertising. I have this horrible feeling I’m going to turn into Effie Trinket in a couple of years.”

Peeta laughed. “I think it would take a lot longer for you to turn into Effie.”

She smiled. “Maybe.” She bent her forehead down to her t-shirt sleeve and wiped the sweat off of it. “Did it get warmer or something?” She drank the last bit of water in her bottle.

“Here you can have mine if you’re still thirsty.” Peeta handed her his bottle, which was still half-full.

She twisted the cap off and took a long drink. “Thanks.” She gave the bottle back to him.

They continued walking. 

“So meaningful work is important to you?” Peeta asked.

“I never thought of it that way, but I guess so,” Katniss said. “So many people at Abernathy, Inc., live and breathe the job. They become just as phony as the work they do. Or they end up like Haymitch, trying to numb themselves with alcohol or even drugs. I don’t want my job to change me. Turn me into something I’m not.”

Now where did that come from? Katniss thought to herself. Why was she telling Peeta all of this? Of course she was so warm, maybe dehydrated even. Maybe her thoughts were getting fuzzy.

“Can I have the rest of your water?” she asked Peeta.

He handed her the water bottle. She quickly drank it down. 

“Sorry, guess I’m kind of tired today.”

“If you’re tired of walking, I can give you a ride.”

“What?” Did she hear that right? She wondered.

“A piggy-back ride.”

She laughed. She hadn’t done anything like that since she was a little girl and her dad ran around the yard with her on his shoulders.

“Are you sure you can lift me? I don’t want to re-injure your leg.”

“I lift flour sacks that are heavier than you, and my leg is fine now.”

Katniss walked up to Peeta’s backside. She reached up and put her arms around his neck. She pulled her legs up and wrapped them around his waist.

“Don’t choke me,” he teased.

She loosened her arms from his neck, fixing them around his shoulders. She tightened her legs around his middle propping them on his forearms. He held the two water bottles in his hands.

Peeta carried her for about a quarter mile until they reached the trailhead. When Katniss slid down from his back, they were both dripping in sweat. 

“Thanks,” Katniss giggled. “That was fun.”

“Anytime,” Peeta said, smiling back.

A loose bit of hair was hanging along the side of her face. Peeta reached for it and put it behind her ear, then placed both hands around her face and kissed her. It was a short kiss because they were overheated and sweaty. 

They pulled back and stared into each others’ eyes for a moment. Katniss bit her lower lip and grinned. 

I like this guy too much, she thought. “Let’s get out of here and get something to drink,” she said.

 

Author’s Note: There was a serious problem with people hunting with bows and arrows in the Santa Monica Mountains during the 1970s and 1980s. A law was passed in 1974 to prohibit archery hunting, however it wasn’t enforced. A Los Angeles Times article dated September 26, 1985, mentions that police and game wardens had finally begun to crack down on archers who were breaking the 1974 law because of complaints by the runners, bikers and hikers who were using the trails.


	9. The Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News)

Katniss returned to work the next day determined to buckle down and finalize the A.I.D.S. educational campaign. It wasn’t her favorite project, but unlike some of the others she’d worked on, at least it was important. She was providing valuable information to the general public who were unaware of the severity of the disease.

She couldn’t help thinking about what she and Peeta had talked about on their hike. She had been talking so much, rambling really. She didn’t understand why she had told him about some of her deepest fears about her job. She’d never shared that with anyone else before, not even Prim. 

She had to admit that with Peeta, she felt like a different person altogether. The shell that she had spent so many years building up around her was starting to crack open. It was a strange sensation, one she wasn’t sure she liked. It was scary to trust someone else with her feelings. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Five minutes after arriving in the office on Friday morning, Katniss got a very odd telephone call. It was Clove Ableman asking her to lunch. She tried to make an excuse, but Clove was insistent. She had to talk with her today. If she wasn’t available for lunch, Clove said she would visit Katniss at her office. 

Katniss didn’t want Clove anywhere near Abernathy, Inc., so she agreed to meet at a Mexican restaurant on Olvera Street, which was located in the oldest part of downtown Los Angeles.

She called Gale immediately after she hung up the phone. Was something going on she didn’t know about? Had Gale admitted the marriage was a fake? Had he told everyone they’d split up? Unfortunately, Katniss had to leave a message because Gale was out of the office. 

Clove was inside the brightly-colored, air-conditioned waiting area of the restaurant when Katniss arrived. She greeted Katniss warmly and told the hostess that they were ready to be seated. Clove talked about the hot weather until the waitress took their orders and placed a bowl of tortilla chips and some salsa on the table.

“Why do they put these fattening chips on the table?” Clove complained. 

“Because they’re tasty,” Katniss replied, as she took a chip and dipped it into the spicy salsa. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What was the point of this meeting? She didn’t want to be friends with this woman. Is that why Clove wanted to meet?

“I see you’re not wearing your ring? Is everything alright?”

Katniss flinched. She had forgotten about that stupid ring that Gale gave her to wear when they went out together. Of course she wasn’t wearing it. It was sitting somewhere in the junk drawer in her kitchen.

Katniss looked down at her finger. “I must have forgotten to put it on today.” She took a second chip, dipped it into the salsa and ate it.

Clove looked at her with curiosity. “How is Gale liking Portland?” 

That was a loaded question, as Katniss had only talked with Gale once since he had left and that was to tell him about Thom and Leevy’s murder.

“Fine,” she said. She hoped that answer was neutral enough to cover whatever was going on there.

Clove stared at her. “Cato was up there yesterday for a meeting. He saw Gale at a restaurant yesterday afternoon with a blonde hippie girl.”

She studied Katniss’ face trying to gauge her reaction. She was startled when Katniss laughed, and took yet another tortilla chip. 

“What’s so funny?” Clove asked.

“That’s my friend Madge,” Katniss explained, as she dipped her chip in the spicy salsa. “She got some terrible news this past weekend. She must have gone up to Portland to spend some time with Gale. She needs some cheering up.”

“You’re okay with your friend hanging out with your husband while you’re here working.”

“Sure, I mean we’re all friends.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Katniss knew her answer sounded odd. If she really were married to Gale she’d be very unhappy about him spending time with another woman. Heck, she’d recently become unglued when the person who answered the phone at Mellark Bakery sounded too sexy. 

Katniss shoved the chip into her mouth. 

“Well, according to Cato they’re a lot more than friends. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”

Katniss swallowed the chip, but it went down the wrong way and she coughed. She picked up her glass of water and swallowed some. Her face was growing red from the coughing and the embarrassment of Clove’s accusation. Gale was so stupid. Why did she ever agree to pretend to be his wife? Now he was cheating on her. 

It suddenly dawned on her, though, that maybe this was Gale’s way of ending the fake marriage. She wished he’d shared his plan it with her beforehand. But what did it matter? She needed to pull herself together. She needed to act like a heartbroken newlywed. She had a role to play. This could even be fun.

“You were right to notice the ring. We are having problems.” Her voice was soft. “We both want different things.” She made a sad face and stared down at the table.

The waitress arrived with their food. Clove had ordered a small salad with diet dressing, while Katniss had ordered the enchilada combination platter with rice and beans. She hadn’t eaten breakfast and she was hungry, starving almost. She quickly dove into her food.

Clove picked at her salad. “I can’t believe you can still eat. I can barely eat when I’m upset.”

“Oh, I can’t stop eating,” Katniss said. “I’ll probably go home after work and devour a carton of ice-cream.”

“You’re not pregnant are you?” Clove eyed her suspiciously. 

Because I’m actually eating instead of starving myself like you, Katniss thought. “Absolutely not.”

Clove looked puzzled. “You must hate your friend. How could she do this to you?”

Clove looked at Katniss waiting for some kind of response, but Katniss wouldn’t criticize Madge to Clove under any circumstance. 

In fact, Katniss almost broke out laughing. She picked up the napkin on her lap and pretended to wipe her lips when really she was hiding a smile. She knew Madge and Gale were a good match. She was so proud of herself. 

Maybe Clove thought she was going to break down in tears. “I appreciate your concern, but this is a personal matter between Gale and myself,” Katniss finally replied. 

Clove looked at her carefully as if trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

Katniss had already finished her lunch. She picked at the tortilla chips and salsa that still sat in the center of the table. The waitress put the bill down near the salsa and Clove grabbed it. 

“I’ve got this,” she said. 

Katniss was putting a chip in her mouth when Clove spoke. She wondered if Clove was going to pass the bill along to Cato so he could put it on his expense report with L.A. Federal. The thought made her suddenly laugh and she nearly choked on the chip she was swallowing. She began coughing again, so hard that tears sprang to her eyes. She grabbed her glass of water to clear her throat.

“If you want to talk about anything little thing, I’d be happy to listen,” Clove said, when Katniss stopped coughing. “I felt terrible when Cato told me, but I thought you should know. I could recommend a very good couples’ therapist if you’re interested.”

 

Katniss closed her office door when Gale finally returned her call late that afternoon. 

“You’ll never guess who asked me to lunch,” Katniss told Gale. “Clove Ableman. She wanted to tell me that you’re cheating with a blonde hippie girl. So when did Madge get there?”

“Are you kidding?” Gale was amazed. “How did she find out?”

“Cato told her. He said you’re all over her Gale. I knew you’d hit it off.”

“You’re not jealous Katniss?” She could hear the smirk in his voice. 

“I’m thrilled for you. Just figure out a way to get us officially unhitched and I’ll be a happy camper.”

“I’m working on it.” 

Katniss tone changed and she grew serious. “How is Madge doing? I spent some time with her Sunday. She was a mess.”

“She’s still pretty upset. She has a couple of part-time jobs, but the band work paid most of her bills, so she’s worried about that, too. I’m flying back with her tomorrow. The memorial service is this Sunday afternoon.”

“How’s the investigation going?”

“Pretty good. But I can’t talk about it right now.”

“Okay, keep me updated on the marriage front.”

“I will,” Gale promised before hanging up.

Less than one minute after Katniss hung up the phone it began ringing again. Thinking it was Gale, that maybe he had one last thing to tell her, she answered the phone flippantly. “Anything to add lover boy?” she giggled.

“Katniss, is that you?” It was Peeta.

Katniss’ tone changed entirely. “I’m sorry I thought it was someone else.” Oh, no, what must Peeta think of her? Who would he think she was talking to? “It’s Friday,” she excused herself. “I’m getting punchy.”

Peeta didn’t say anything for a moment, and Katniss wondered if he was going to hang up. 

“How have you been?” she added lamely.

“Fine…busy. Decorating wedding cakes. I think everyone in this city is getting married.” He sighed. 

Was there some hidden meaning in that comment or was he simply making an observation? Katniss wondered. 

“Anyway I was calling with a business referral. We have a customer who ordered a wedding cake, but needs serious help planning her wedding. She wanted to know if we could recommend anyone and I thought of you.”

Plan a wedding? “I’ve never done anything like that,” Katniss said, quickly. 

“It seems like it would be fairly similar to what you’re already doing, setting up events.”

“That’s true,” she agreed. But, a wedding…

“Why don’t you call her,” Peeta suggested. “Her name is Annie Cresta. She wants a big society-type wedding. You’ll be well-compensated. In fact, you could probably set your own price.”

Peeta gave her Annie’s phone number. Before hanging up he invited her to go to a movie with him the following evening.

Katniss sat at her desk and stared at the phone number she had written down. Peeta had taken her complaints about her job seriously enough to try and find her something else. She was a bit embarrassed. She shouldn’t have shared so much personal information with him. She didn’t really want to take on this project. She guessed it wouldn’t hurt to talk with Annie. Then when she saw Peeta tomorrow she could at least say she followed up on his suggestion.

As soon as Katniss got home that evening, she dialed Annie’s number. A young woman answered who sounded very sweet, although slightly spacey. She told Katniss that she needed to get married in four weeks because her fiancé had been unexpectedly promoted and had to move to London for his job. Her parents wanted a big wedding – their social standing in the community required it – but there was so little time to prepare. Annie and her mother didn’t have a clue about how to pull off such a big event on such short notice.

Katniss initially planned to listen to Annie’s story and then politely decline the job. However, the more Annie spoke, the more the wheels began turning in her head. She had so many ideas. She agreed to meet with Annie and her mother the next morning.

After she hung up the phone, Katniss wondered whether she should ask Haymitch about taking on a side job. She had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t approve of her moonlighting. If she were to take on the extra work, she’d have to figure out some way to make all the necessary arrangements while working full-time for Abernathy, Inc. It would be tricky to coordinate two different jobs.

The next morning she met Mrs. Cresta, Annie, and her handsome fiancé Finnick Odair at a sidewalk café in Santa Monica. Katniss had compiled a list of questions so that she could determine what exactly Annie and her family wanted. It took about three hours of conversation to hammer out the details and set a generous wedding budget. Mrs. Cresta immediately agreed to pay Katniss a hefty amount for her services.

Of course, now Katniss had loads of phone calls to make to set the plan into motion.

As soon as she left, she went home and got to work. It wasn’t going to be easy to find a venue that was still available but she got lucky with a cancellation that had occurred at an outdoor site in Malibu that overlooked the water. It was exactly what Annie and Finnick had described as their dream wedding. She was even able to convince the manager to throw in a discount. 

When Prim came home from her part-time job at the university library, Katniss had more than half the wedding already planned. 

“This could be a new career,” Prim said when Kaniss told her how much money the Cresta’s were paying her to plan their daughter’s wedding.

“I don’t know about full-time, but it’s certainly a lucrative side job,” she said. She really had to thank Peeta for recommending her. She owned him yet again.

 

Author’s Note: The wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, brought traditional ceremonial weddings back into style. The average wedding in 1985 cost more than $6,000 according to Brides’s magazine and a designer wedding could run as much as $10,000 or more.


	10. I Can't Hold Back (Survivor)

Peeta and Katniss were sitting in Marie Callender’s eating pie and talking about _Back to the Future_ , the movie they had just seen.

Katniss was listening to Peeta joke that he needed a DeLorean. “Maybe I could go back in time and fix my mom,” he said, before taking a forkful of apple pie.

Katniss wanted to ask more about his mom, like exactly how bad her drinking problem was, when she noticed a couple sitting together in a booth at the back of the restaurant. They were frantically groping each other. The woman turned her head slightly to the side and Katniss caught a glimpse of her face.

She gasped. It was Clove. But her admirer wasn’t Cato.

Peeta noticed her reaction and turned his head to look, as well.

“I know her,” Katniss whispered. “She’s married and that is definitely not her husband.”

Clove and her companion broke apart. The man threw some cash on the table and the two began walking out. Katniss ducked her head down, pretending to reach into her purse while shielding the side of her face with one hand so that Clove wouldn’t notice her. But she didn’t need to worry. Clove only had eyes for her companion. She didn’t glance in Katniss’ direction.

“Who is she?” Peeta asked when the couple had left the restaurant.

“Her name is Clove. She’s married to Gale’s boss,” Katniss said.

Peeta’s expression turned sour as soon as she mentioned Gale.

Katniss decided to ignore the look on his face and continued. “She invited me to lunch yesterday to say that Gale is cheating on me with Madge. I can’t believe what a hypocrite she is.”

“Does everyone still think you two are married?”

Katniss tried to read Peeta’s face. He looked irritated.

“Yeah, but Gale’s working toward ending it. It might take time, though. He doesn’t want to…and I don’t want him to jeopardize his job.”

“I really hate this,” Peeta said angrily. He dropped his fork onto the table and pushed his half-eaten plate of pie away.

Katniss was startled. Why was he so upset?

“I don’t like anyone thinking my girlfriend is married to someone else.”

At age twenty-three Katniss had never had any guy refer to her as his girlfriend. She dated a bit in college, but no one seriously or for very long. Her heart beat a little faster as she thought about Peeta’s comment. She wanted to smile, but then she looked at his face. He was angry.

She was suddenly very humiliated. She’d been playing this marriage game with Gale, never once thinking about the impact on Peeta. He’d been awfully patient with her so far.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I guess I never realized that this thing affected you, too.”

Peeta’s expression softened. “It does Katniss. He paused for a moment, his blue eyes conveying his pain, before continuing to speak. “I like you a lot. I had a huge crush on you all through elementary school. Over the years, I thought about you. I couldn’t believe it when I walked into your office five weeks ago. It seemed like sign from heaven or something. I knew we were meant to be together.”

Katniss noticed Peeta’s cheeks grow pink as he spoke. She smiled at his words, although she thought he was being overly bold in his assumption. “I was happy to see you, too. But Peeta, you hadn’t seen me for twelve years. Why would you think we were meant to be together? I’m not the same person as I was back then.”

“That’s true,” Peeta admitted. “I’m not the same person either. But when I watched you eat that chocolate cake that I brought…well, I knew that you were someone I wanted to know better. Exactly the sort of person I was meant to be with.”

Katniss blushed. She remembered that the cake was so good, she practically licked the plate. But she was missing Peeta’s point. “What does eating cake have to do with anything?”

Peeta grinned. “When I was in high school, my P.E. teacher Dr. Aurelius told us that a good way to determine a girl’s personality was to watch her eat. A healthy appetite meant a healthy passion for all aspects of life.”

Katniss dropped the fork she’d been using to shovel coconut crème pie into her mouth.  
What exactly did he mean -- all aspects of life? Healthy passion? Was he implying what she thought he was?

She frowned. What did he think she was? “I’m not like that at all.”

“Of course you are,” Peeta insisted. “You’re kind, smart, and hard-working.”

Okay, so maybe she had a dirty mind.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss closed the front door of her apartment to face Prim sitting on the bed studying.

“Katniss, I could hear you bumping up against the door for at least ten minutes. What was going on out there?”

“Sorry, about that little duck,” Katniss smiled breathlessly. “My boyfriend and I were making out.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“You did a good job on that A.I.D.S. educational project sweetheart,” Haymitch congratulated Katniss while she poured herself a cup of coffee in the employee break room on Monday. “I guess you were right, you’re not as pure as I thought.”

Katniss scowled. She didn’t appreciate Haymitch’s attempt at humor. Her level of purity was none of his business and it made no difference whatsoever on her professional abilities.

He followed her into office. “I have a new project for you. It’s a big one for our firm – a campaign to promote the new California state lottery.

Katniss smiled enthusiastically, but inwardly she groaned. First safe sex, now gambling. Her job at Abernathy, Inc., was looking less exciting by the day.

Fortunately, she had another project that excited her – planning Annie’s wedding. She spent her lunch hour visiting florists and checking out musicians. She left the office by six each evening so she could meet with Mrs. Cresta and Annie to review the details. Sometimes Finnick joined them to give his opinion.

Plans for the wedding were coming along swimmingly. Nearly three hundred people were expected to attend. The ceremony would be held outdoors overlooking the Pacific Ocean at sunset, followed by a leisurely buffet meal under the stars. A platform would be set up for dancing with music provided by a small string orchestra.

“This wedding is like something in a movie,” Katniss told Prim. “The Cresta’s are sparing no expense. I’ve never worked on a project where people were so willing to throw around money and are happy to do so. I have to admit I’m having a lot of fun spending it. ”

The two sisters were sitting on their bed sharing a pizza and watching television.

“Do you think you’d do another wedding after this? Prim asked.

“If I can pull this off, I think I might. It’s similar in a lot of ways to what I already do, but it seems more important than the other stuff. I’m helping to make a special memory for Annie and Finnick and their families, something they’ll remember all their lives. Nothing I’ve ever done at Abernathy, Inc., falls under that category.”

The phone rang and Katniss got up to answer it. It was nearly 9 p.m. and Katniss hoped it wasn’t anyone who wanted to talk for very long because Cheers was about to start in a few minutes and she didn’t want to miss the episode, even though it was a rerun.

She picked up the phone and immediately heard giggling. “Hello?”

More giggling, then a tiny yelp, then Madge’s voice squealing, “Gale, stop it.”

Katniss smiled. “Is that you Madge?”

“Yes.” Her friend was excited. “You’ll never guess what we did today – Gale and I got married!”

Katniss was stunned. She didn’t know how to respond. In the background she could hear the theme music from Cheers playing.

“The show’s starting,” Prim shouted.

“Well aren’t you going to say anything?” Madge asked. “I know it’s crazy and impulsive but I’m blaming you since you introduced us.”

What?!

“But you just met each other less than two weeks ago!” Katniss fumbled. Was this some kind of joke?

“I know it’s really sudden, but we clicked, and I..we thought why wait?”

Katniss remembered Peeta’s comment when they talked on the hike about not wasting the time you have to live. She suspected that Madge had thought along similar lines and with the sudden death of her friends decided to throw caution to the wind. But surely Gale should have known better.

“Congratulations,” she told her friend. “Can I speak with Gale?”

“Sure.”

Katniss heard a few more giggles, then Gale’s voice.

“Are you surprised Catnip?”

“Yes, I am.” Her voice was angry. “Gale, it’s irresponsible of you to marry someone who’s probably not in her right mind because of grief. How long do you think this marriage is going to last?”

“For the rest of our lives.” His voice was firm. “Look I know it’s sudden, but you were right. We’re a good match. I’ve been thinking about taking this step for a while, and now I found someone who wanted to do it too -- for real.”

His words hit Katniss hard. Was he saying he’d been interested in her all along? That his proposal to be his occasional wife was some kind of test for the real thing? She wanted to ask him more, but she could hear Madge in the background and she knew he couldn’t really talk right now.

“What are you going to about the fake…” she began, but he spoke quickly.

“I’ll let you know when I work it out.” He hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

She sighed. She hoped he knew what he was doing. The main thing she felt was a sense of relief. At least she could stop playing the marriage game. Peeta would certainly be happy.

She hung up the phone.

“Did Gale get married?” Prim asked, lowering the volume on the television.

Katniss nodded.

“I can’t believe it,” Prim said. “Katniss, you are a fantastic matchmaker. Maybe you can start a business setting the couples up and then planning their weddings.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Where are you going sweetheart?” Haymitch said when Katniss tried to duck out of the office at 5:30 p.m. the following evening. Normally Haymitch would be long gone by now on a Friday evening, probably lying around drunk somewhere, but today he was on the job, alert, and annoying.

“I’ve been here since 8 a.m.,” Katniss said. “It’s Friday. I’ve got plans.” She didn’t mention that her plans involved helping Annie and her mother create a table-seating chart.

Haymitch guffawed. “You got a boyfriend or something. You seem to be leaving earlier and earlier these days.”

Katniss flushed in anger. Even leaving early, she easily worked 45 to 50 hours each week. She wondered how he knew exactly when she left the office, since he was usually gone for the day by early afternoon. She wouldn’t be surprised if had a spy among the staff keeping tabs of everyone’s comings and goings

“Getting serious with that husband of yours.” He winked at her and she frowned, thinking of Gale and the previous night’s phone call.

“Good night Haymitch, have a good weekend and I’ll see you Monday.” She hurried out the door before he could reply.

Finnick joined them that evening as they sat around the Cresta’s oversized dining room table. Three hundred guests were coming and each table seated ten people, so they had to create thirty groupings of ten people. Since the guests were family and friends of Annie and Finnick, Katniss was quiet. She merely wrote down the names as the others talked and even argued a bit over who should sit with whom. Some table groupings were easy to figure out, while others were more difficult.

It was obvious that the Cresta’s had many connections in the community. Mr. Cresta sat on the boards of two corporations. Mrs. Cresta was a volunteer for several charities. Their guest list reflected those connections. Katniss was playing with the pen, when Mrs. Cresta’s mentioned the Snows. “I know Abigail from the Boys and Girls Club, but Annie’s father sits with Coriolanus on the board for that insurance company.

Katniss got a sick feeling in her stomach when she heard the Snows would be there. But it got much worse when a few minutes later Haymitch was mentioned as a guest. He would surely notice her there. This was not good.

Eventually Annie and her mother left the room – Mrs. Cresta to make coffee and Annie to get some magazines pages she’d torn out to show Katniss table centerpieces she liked. Katniss was left alone with Finnick.

“This is fairly overwhelming,” Finnick said, pointing at the list Katniss was compiling.

Katniss smiled. “You guys are doing a great job, though. It’s just a lot of work.”

Finnick shook his head. “I didn’t realize it would be this intense when I proposed to Annie. I pictured something simple.”

Katniss laughed. “How long have you known each other?”

“A long time.”

Katniss thought of Gale knowing Madge for less than two weeks. “Was it love at first sight?” she asked, curious as to what drew the couple together.

“No, she kind of snuck up on me.”

Annie entered the room with the pages. “I heard that Finn,” she said, running her fingers through his bronze mop as she handed the pages to Katniss.

“What about you Annie?” Katniss asked.

“I loved him before he even noticed me.” She admitted.

“It took me a while to figure out that Annie was different,” Finnick said. “She made me realize why it never worked out with anyone else.”

“That’s so sweet,” Katniss said.

“What about you Katniss? Is there anyone in your life?” Annie asked.

Instead of deflecting the question, for the first time, Katniss felt at ease to say, “yes.”

They didn’t follow up on her response because Mrs. Cresta came in with a tray carrying cups of coffee. But Katniss didn’t mind. She didn’t want to discuss her feelings about Peeta with anyone else. She was still figuring them out for herself.

 

Author’s Note: Back to the Future was released July 3, 1985. It told the story of Marty McFly, who with the help of his friend Dr. Emmett Brown, travels thirty years into the past using a time machine built into a modified DeLorean car. Prior to going back and ultimately changing his future, Marty’s mom was an alcoholic. This movie was the most successful film of 1985, grossing more than $383 million worldwide.  
The first tickets for the California State Lottery were available for purchase October 3, 1985. The lottery was created after voters passed Proposition 37 (The California State Lottery Act) in 1984. Profit from ticket sales was intended to provide money for schools so that taxes wouldn’t be raised. A counter argument to the passage of the bill was the lottery was a form of legalized gambling.  
Cheers was a highly-rated television show that ran from 1982 through 1993. It aired on Thursday evenings.


	11. You're the Inspiration (Chicago)

The next week and a half passed quickly. Katniss was surviving on four, maybe five hours of sleep each night. 

The nightmares made things much worse. She hadn’t had them in years, not since the death of her father, but they’d returned with a vengeance. All she dreamed about was weddings. But not the sweet and romantic ones like the one she was planning for Annie and Finnick, but rather weddings that were filled with bloodshed, with a serial killer running loose. 

She woke Prim up with her thrashing a couple of times. Her intake of diet coke and coffee greatly increased. It was easier not to sleep, anyway. There was so much to do and so little time left to ensure that the Cresta-Odair wedding was a success. 

A week before the big event, she went to see another movie with Peeta. They were waiting in line to get their tickets, when she told him about Gale and Madge’s sudden marriage. Peeta started to laugh. 

“It’s not funny,” Katniss insisted. “They just met.”

“I guess his skating really impressed her,” Peeta said coyly.

“Right,” Katniss snorted.

“Well he was impressive,” Peeta continued. “Of course his technique is quite different from yours.”

“What are you mean?”

“You’re more direct, you just pinned me to the skate floor.”

Katniss looked at his face quickly. Was he still upset about that? But he was smiling. She guessed he was relieved to have Gale out of the picture, although Katniss knew Peeta didn’t have any competition in the first place.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later, she fell asleep in the theater during the movie, her head resting on Peeta’s shoulder. She woke up when the final credits were rolling.

“You must be exhausted,” Peeta said, as they walked back to his car.

“No, I’m fine,” she said, before falling asleep in the car as he drove her back to her apartment.

When she woke up, she was disoriented. It was dark and she was sleeping curled up in the passenger seat of Peeta’s car. He was staring at her.

She looked at him puzzled. “How long as I been sleeping?” 

Peeta glanced at his watch. “About two hours,” he joked.

“What?” Katniss was startled. 

“Okay it was only ten minutes,” he said.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I like watching you sleep.”

“That’s kind of weird Peeta. Did your P.E. teacher have a theory about sleeping women, as well?” 

Peeta smiled. “No, I have my own opinion about that.”

Katniss stuck her tongue out at him. “Are you going to share it?” 

He leaned over and whispered into her ear. 

Katniss blushed. Apparently she wasn’t the only one with a dirty mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Katniss woke up early the morning of the wedding. She was still flying high from the rehearsal dinner held the evening before in the private dining room of a seafood restaurant overlooking the water. There had been twenty people in total, just close family and friends of Annie and Finnick. Everything had gone smoothly. There had been toasts calling for long life and happiness. 

Katniss had organized the rehearsal dinner as well. Although there really wasn’t anything for her to do at it, both families had insisted she attend as a guest. They even told her she could bring a date, but she didn’t because Peeta had to work. Mellark Bakery was not only supplying the wedding cake, but also a variety of breads for the dinner buffet. 

Katniss had arrived early to the rehearsal dinner to put hand-written seating cards next to each table setting. When she was finished, Peeta arrived to drop off a cake ordered for the dessert.

“Oh yum,” she said when she saw the large round chocolate cake he had set down on a small table in the corner of the dining room. It was the same type of cake that he had brought to Abernathy Inc., for Katniss to sample. 

“The groom likes chocolate, too,” Peeta said. 

Katniss walked Peeta back to his delivery van and kissed him goodbye. 

“Too bad you can’t stay,” she said. 

“I’m still finishing their cake,” he admitted. “In fact I have a couple more cakes to do. We’re going to have to hire more decorators if business keeps up this way. But I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He got into the van and started the motor, then leaned out the window and yelled. “Katniss, be sure to eat something tomorrow. You don’t want to faint again.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss got out of bed quickly to shower and get dressed. The ceremony was many hours away -- at 7:30 p.m. in the evening, but there was a lot to do beforehand. A crew was arriving at 9 a.m. at the wedding site to set up chairs, tables, a platform for dancing, and a big white tent that would cover the food. Katniss dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, braided her hair and put on sneakers. It was going to be another hot day. She packed a bag with a dress, stockings and ballerina flats to change into later. She also made a sandwich, which she tucked into her purse. She definitely didn’t want to embarrass herself today.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back,” she told Prim who woke up just before she left. “It’s going to be a long day.”

When she arrived, the crew from the rental company was waiting for her. She walked around with the manager and gave him instructions. It took most of the morning and afternoon to get everything set up precisely. When the crew left, the site had been transformed into two distinct areas: one for the ceremony and another for the reception. The flowers for the table settings and the wedding party arrived mid-afternoon.

Katniss changed out of her shorts and t-shirt and into her dress before 5:30 p.m. when Annie and Finnick, along with their families arrived. There was a small house on the site and the families used the house to put on their wedding clothes. Katniss greeted the photographer and videographer who would cover the wedding. Annie and Finnick were ignoring the custom of the groom not seeing the bride prior to the wedding. They wanted photographs, and lots of them, so they began posing for pictures as soon as everyone was dressed. Katniss watched for a few moments, but it was clear the photographer knew exactly what he was doing so she focused her attention onto the caterers.

The food began arriving around six p.m. The caterers set up the large buffet tables with several salads and a main course of roast beef, salmon, and chicken. Peeta delivered a variety of breads and the wedding cake after six p.m. It was four tiers high. Annie and Finnick had requested it be decorated with a beach theme motif, so instead of being purely white, he had incorporated some other colors, like blue and sandy brown into the design.

Katniss looked around at everything and sighed deeply. It was coming together just as she planned it. 

“Are you going to stay and watch the ceremony?” she asked Peeta after he finished setting up the cake.

“I’m not exactly dressed for it,” he said, pointing out his cargo shorts, polo shirt, and sneakers.  
Guests were already starting to arrive, men in sports jackets and long pants, and women in dresses and heels. “But I’ll stay if you want.”

“Of course I want you to stay,” Katniss smiled. “Always.”

From the food tent, Katniss noticed the guests arrive and be seated. The string orchestra was playing softly. She took special note of President Snow and his wife, and later Haymitch, who appeared surprising sober for an event so late in the day. By Haymitch’s side was Effie Trinket. Katniss wondered what she was doing here. She lived in New York. Was Haymitch involved with her? 

Katniss stayed watching from the tent until Snow and Haymitch were seated, before hurrying to the small house where the wedding party was hiding out until the start of the wedding. Annie and Finnick didn’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen. In fact the best man was directing guests to their seats. 

Finnick was kissing Annie when Katniss walked in.

“Save that for later,” she laughed. She motioned for both mothers to leave the house. The best man, who was Finnick’s college friend, would escort them down the center aisle. Annie’s maid-of-honor, a cousin who was dressed in an apricot ballerina-length dress, was to follow. Annie, escorted by her father, was last. She wore a long white gown that had a lacy bodice, wide skirt and puffy sleeves. 

“This is it,” Katniss called. Everyone left the house and took their positions. The music changed to a classical celtic tune, and then to the wedding march as Annie walked down the red runner that ran down the center of the two sections of chairs to meet Finnick who was wearing a black tuxedo.

Katniss was standing behind the white folding chairs that seated the guests. She looked to be sure that the photographer and videographer were well positioned, before she stopped to enjoy the ceremony. The food servers working the event, left the tent to watch, as well. Peeta walked over to Katniss and stood next to her during the ceremony.

Before it ended, just as Finnick kissed Annie, Peeta kissed Katniss on the cheek.

“I need to get out of here,” he whispered looking down at his clothing. 

“All right Cinderella, thanks for staying,” she smirked.

He jogged away quickly before the newlyweds walked down the center runner, followed by their witnesses.

Katniss quickly walked back to the food tent to oversee the reception. She spent the rest of the evening dodging Snow and his wife and Haymitch and Effie, as she oversaw the flow of the party. At one point after the cake was cut, Katniss was sure that Effie caught sight of her, but she turned quickly away and hoped that perhaps Effie wouldn’t recognize her here away from the context of Abernathy, Inc. Anyway, she could simply be another guest.

Finnick and Annie didn’t leave until 11 p.m. They had spent the entire evening greeting their guests, and then dancing. By midnight most everyone had left. The caterers had packed up. Mr. and Mrs. Cresta thanked her for all her work and handed her a check. She folded it in half and put it into a side pocket in her dress.

“So many people were asking who arranged this whole thing,” Mrs. Cresta said. “I gave them your name and phone number, I hope you don’t mind.”

“No,” Katniss smiled. “Not at all.”

“I think you’re going to get some jobs from this,” Mr. Cresta stated. “It was very impressive. We can’t thank you enough.”

Katniss nodded. 

She was the last person to leave the site that evening. She had to come back the next morning to meet the rental company truck that would take away the chairs and the tables. But they wouldn’t be there until noon, so she could sleep in a bit. 

Prim was already asleep when Katniss entered the apartment. She quickly undressed and brushed her teeth before climbing into bed in her bra and underwear. Just as she was about to doze off, she remembered the check in dress pocket. She got out of bed, pulled it from her pocket and tossed it into her purse, before climbing back into bed. 

Katniss and Prim were startled awake the next morning when they heard knocking at the door.

“Let’s not answer it,” Katniss told her sister. “Maybe whoever it is will go away.”

But the knocking continued. Then Katniss heard Peeta’s voice calling. “Katniss, Prim. Are you in there?”

Prim got out of bed to open the door, but Katniss shook her head. “Let me put something on first.” She went to the closet and pulled out her robe and tied the belt around her waist tightly.  
When Prim opened the door, Peeta was standing there with sack of cheese buns and Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. 

“Sorry, I probably should have called first.”

“Well you brought food, so that makes it okay,” Prim said, grabbing the bag from his hand. 

Peeta smiled across the room at Katniss who was quickly picking up her and Prim’s discarded clothing that littered the floor. 

“I brought you a newspaper Katniss. Your friend Madge is mentioned in a front page article.”

Katniss set the clothes down on Prim’s desk and took the paper. She sat down on the edge of the bed to look at it. Peeta looked around and seeing nowhere else to sit, perched on the edge of the bed next to her as she started to read.

The article ran in a single column down the right side of the front page. Titled, “More Victims of The Stalker,” it talked about people affected by the deaths of the serial killer’s rampage. Madge was mentioned midway in the article. She was quoted extensively mentioning how she lost her good friends and her main source of income. Then she went on to say how her boyfriend and now new husband was a great comfort to her. Of course, she mentioned his name in full – Gale Hawthorne. The writer even identified him as an employee of L.A. Federal. 

“I wonder if Gale knows about this.”

“Well it’s his problem now,” Peeta said.

“That’s true,” Katniss admitted. “But I don’t want Snow causing trouble for me, too.”

“How can he?”

Katniss thought about it. She wasn’t planning to look for another job anytime soon. And now she had a side job as well. “You’re right. I’m probably making too much out of this.”

Katniss glanced at the clock and jumped up. “I need to go out to the wedding site by noon. The rental company is picking up the chairs and tables. Do you want to come with me?”

Peeta nodded. “Maybe we could go hiking again afterward.”

“That’s a great idea.” She stood up and grabbed some clean clothing and banged on the closed bathroom door. “Hurry up Prim, I need to get in the shower.”

Later that evening she thought again about calling Gale to warn him about the newspaper article. He probably wasn’t reading the Los Angeles newspapers while living in Portland. But their last conversation hadn’t gone so well and he’d hung up on her. She decided to let him handle the consequences on his own. She was tired of helping him out. Isn’t that what had gotten her into this mess in the first place? 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Katniss walked into work the next morning, her personal belongings were sitting in two large cardboard boxes on top of the secretary’s desk. She wouldn’t have even realized it was her stuff until she noticed an umbrella lying across the top of one of the boxes. 

I have one like that, she thought before she peered into the boxes and realized every item inside belonged to her. The kitchen items from her bottom desk drawer, her professional books and manuals, even a pair of sneakers.

Haymitch walked out from his office. “I need to see you sweetheart.” His voice was hard, like he had something serious to say.

She followed him inside, not even bothering to get herself of a cup of coffee.

“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Are you moving my office?”

Haymitch closed the door behind her. “I’m letting you go. You can’t be moonlighting and work this job. He sat down at his desk.

Katniss went numb. How did he know? Did Effie tell him? 

“What are you talking about?” she stalled.

“Don’t play Ms. Innocent,” he said. “Everyone at that wedding was talking about the wunderkind who pulled off that extravaganza on such short notice. I thought to myself, hey I should hire that kid. When I talked to the Cresta’s I found out I already did.”

“You never said we couldn’t take side jobs,” Katniss argued. “I easily put in 45 to 50 hours each week. I did every single bit of work on my own time. I didn’t use this office’s computer or fax machine or phone. I still did my assigned work for you. I outlined the campaign for the state lottery commission. See it’s on your desk.” She pointed to the stapled papers in his in-basket.

“I’m not saying you failed at your job. You need to understand how this business works,” Haymitch said to her. “When I hire you and give you a salary I own you. All creative endeavors you undertake belong to me. I’m sure the Cresta’s reimbursed you generously for your efforts.”

She blushed. 

“Because you work for me, technically the payment for that job should be turned over to Abernathy, Inc.”

She opened her mouth in surprise. Was he crazy?

“Obviously, I bill our clients for much more than I pay you,” Haymitch continued. “That is how this company turns a profit. If you are employed for me, you cannot accept jobs unless they go through Abernathy, Inc. And we don’t do weddings, sweetheart.”

“But can’t this be a warning?” she pleaded. “It’s not like I was in direct competition with Abernathy, Inc. I won’t do anymore weddings.”

But she knew she wanted to, much more than she wanted to work on some of the projects Haymitch had recently given her. 

“I’m actually doing you a favor Katniss,” Haymitch explained. “You’re moving up in the world. You’ll no longer be an employee. Now you’ll be a freelance consultant. And as a consultant you can do all the weddings you want and if you play your cards right, an occasional job as a subcontractor for Abernathy, Inc., as well. And you’ll get paid a lot more as a consultant than you will as an employee.”

Katniss left his office stunned. She walked around quickly and said her goodbyes to the few co-workers who were at their desks. The secretary offered to help her carry the second box down to her car. As she was picking up a box, her office door opened and out waltzed Effie. 

“Haymitch, when will you be getting the nameplate for my door?”

Her door? That’s my door. I never had a nameplate. Is she working here now? Katniss glared at Effie. Is she the real reason Haymitch let me go?

Effie looked down at Katniss sadly. “Honey, you have a lot to learn about how to play the P.R. game if you want to succeed.”

Katniss scowled.


	12. The Heat Is On (Glenn Frey)

Katniss got into her car and sat for a while in the parking garage. She looked at her watch. It was only 9:15 a.m. She had the whole day ahead of her. What should she do now that she didn’t have a job anymore? She was numb with disbelief. 

How could Haymitch fire her? He had told her only a few weeks ago that she was one of his best employees. She’d always known that Haymitch wouldn’t be happy about her taking on a side job. That’s why she never mentioned it to him. That’s why she spent the entire wedding dodging him. She knew if he found out, there would be some kind of confrontation, but she never expected this. And what role did Effie play in all of it?

Suddenly she remembered the newspaper article from yesterday. Did Haymitch read it? Did he fear business repercussions from Snow because of that article? If Snow had the kind of power Haymitch had alluded to a couple of months ago -- the power to destroy careers --he probably had the power to steer business away from Abernathy, Inc., as well. Were Haymitch’s actions a way to protect himself and his business?

She had a lot to think about, but she needed to do something now. She couldn’t sit in the parking garage all day. She gave herself a series of simple commands to follow. Turn on the car’s engine. Drive to the bank. Deposit the final paycheck Haymitch gave you along with the check from the Cresta’s. 

She couldn’t believe there was so much traffic and so many people walking around as she drove to the bank. Didn’t these people have jobs? Were they all unemployed like her? 

When she entered the bank, she grabbed a deposit slip and pulled the two checks out of her purse to fill the proper amounts onto the form. When she looked at the check from Mr. Cresta she gasped. He had added a ten percent bonus on top of the amount they had agreed upon. She took a deep breath. With this money and the paycheck she’d just received from Haymitch she’d easily be able to pay her bills for the next three months. At least she had that buffer of time to figure out what to do next.

After leaving the bank, Katniss drove home. She had been so busy for so long that she didn’t know how to fill her free time. She knew she should update her resume and start looking for another job. But would she run into the same problem working for someone else, if she continued to coordinate weddings as a side job? Probably. 

She changed her clothes and went to her favorite hiking spot. Surprisingly there were more people on the trail on a Monday morning than there was yesterday afternoon. She walked for a long time, all the way to the exit at fence on the Valley side before turning around and walking back to her car on the other side of the mountain. It took her a couple of hours, but what did that matter. She had all the time in the world now.

She was so humiliated that she had gotten fired. She’d been proud of her job at Abernathy, Inc., and it had been a good job for the most part. The problem was she wasn’t sure what to do next. 

By the time she crawled under the fence to return to her car it was almost 3 p.m. She was hot, sweaty, and thirsty. She drove home and took a shower, then put on her pajamas. When Prim came home, Katniss was lying on the bed rolled up in a fetal position. She wanted to cry but she couldn’t. Her eyes stayed dry. 

“What are you doing here? Are you sick?” Prim hurried to her side, putting her hand on Katniss’ forehead.

“No,” she murmured. 

“Katniss, you’re not pregnant are you?”

“Prim! Why would you even ask me that?” Her face burned. 

I don’t know,” Prim muttered. “You have a boyfriend now...”

“I got fired,” Katniss shouted.

“Why?” Prim was shocked. 

“My boss found out that I organized the wedding and he said I wasn’t allowed to moonlight. So he fired me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Find another job, I suppose.”

“But what about our rent…the bills? I have a little money saved up from my job. I could give it to you.”

Katniss sat up in bed. What was she doing? She was turning into her mother and now Prim was taking care of her. “No, Prim. We have enough money to last a few months. We won’t get tossed out of our apartment. I’ll find another job. I have skills. She remembered that Haymitch had mentioned that the success of the wedding was being talked about by some of the guests. Maybe someone would call to offer her a job.

“Did you tell Peeta?”

Katniss shook her head. She hadn’t told anyone. She was too embarrassed.

“You should tell Peeta,” Prim continued. “He got you the wedding planning job, didn’t he? Maybe he has some good ideas. He has a business degree. And he is your boyfriend, isn’t he?”

Prim was right. But that was why she hated to call him. She didn’t want to appear weak or needy. She liked their relationship to be as equals. How could she be his equal if she didn’t even have a job?

She put her face into her hands and rubbed her temples. What was she going to do?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gale Hawthorne sat in the ground floor office he’d been given at National Trust and stared out the small window that looked out over a tiny rose garden. It was the height of summer in Portland and the temperature was a robust 65 degrees Fahrenheit on a beautiful overcast day.

He was homesick for Los Angeles. Madge was there now, packing up her apartment and putting everything into storage before driving up to join him. Everyone at National Trust knew that his wife was eventually supposed to move here. Since no one knew her name, it didn’t matter if he introduced Madge to them. He hadn’t told Madge anything about the fake marriage. Why stir up trouble if it didn’t matter?

He was irritated with Katniss’ comments to him when Madge called her. He wanted to put them out of his mind, but he couldn’t stop thinking about them. He hoped Katniss wasn’t right about Madge not being in her right mind. What if Madge wanted out of the marriage in a few weeks or a few months? 

He’d always been so focused on school and work that he hadn’t spent a lot of time dating. He’d always figured when the time was right someone would come along. For a long while he thought it might be Katniss. But she’d never seemed to want anything more than a friendship. And she’d been a wonderful friend to introduce him to Madge. In fact he couldn’t believe his luck to meet someone so sweet and kind and pretty and talented and funny. It was just the quickness of everything that rattled him a bit.

He didn’t think of himself as the type of person who jumped into things without careful consideration. Okay, maybe the fake marriage idea had been kind of impulsive. But that wasn’t real. This was real. He’d done something so monumental that he had even shocked himself. He hoped he hadn’t made a huge mistake.

He was just leaving for a meeting when he got a phone call. It was Snow. 

“I need you down in L.A. fast,” Snow said. “Cato is gone. Get the first flight out. I want to see you this afternoon.”

Gale hung up the phone stunned. He quickly dialed Madge and told her to stay put. 

“I’ll be in L.A. tonight.”

Then he called the Acquisitions department secretary. “What happened to Cato?” he asked her.

“He’s in jail for assault,” she said. “It was in today’s paper. He nearly killed his wife’s former boyfriend. The guy is in critical condition in the hospital.”

Gale gulped. Cato was a jerk, but he never thought he’d flip like that. He got up to go to the meeting that he was already late for, but first he stopped to talk with the secretary to ask her to book him a ticket to L.A. for this afternoon. This was going to be some kind of day. Would he become the new department manager?

Fortunately he was able to get a noon flight on Alaska Airlines to Burbank. Someone had left a copy of the front section of yesterday’s Los Angeles Times in the Portland airport and he’d picked it up to read on the plane. He settled into his seat and relaxed. The flight attendant offered him a glass of wine. He accepted and pulled down his tray to put his drink down. He grabbed the newspaper from his briefcase and began to read.

On the front page was a story about the unmentioned victims of the serial killer. He remembered Madge telling him that a reporter had interviewed her. He started to skim the article, but slowed down to read it carefully when he saw her name.

Oh, no, he thought when he saw his own name and employer mentioned. Had Snow seen it?

The flight attendant served him lasagna for lunch. He asked for another glass of wine to go along with it. He needed it now. He had to come up with a plan. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peeta had been at the bakery since 5 a.m. That’s when the ovens were turned on every morning. He’d gradually been taking over the day-to-day running of his family’s bakery since he graduated from college the previous year. His two brothers had never been that interested in the work. Both of them had careers paths in other fields. His dad was getting older and wanted to sleep in. Peeta didn’t blame him. His dad stayed up late most evenings trying to calm down Peeta’s mom who would go into a tirade after drinking too much. He’d even gotten involved too many times to count.

One day a week Peeta concentrated on business development, visiting different companies and restaurants trying to pick up some commercial business. His father had started the bakery, but had run it as a mom and pop type of operation. In business school, Peeta realized the true value of the recipes his family owned. With a good marketing plan, Mellark bakery could be expanded and its cakes and breads could be on the menus of the finest restaurants in Los Angeles. 

The problem was that he really needed to spend more time developing the business and less time decorating the cakes. It was frustrating to see so much potential but not have the time to develop it. He could easily work seven days a week and had for a long time. But recently, he’d cut back his hours. He credited that to Katniss.

He wanted to spend time with her. The real Katniss was so much more than the school kid fantasy he had conjured up over the years. She was a person who had very similar values to him. Both were hard workers. Both cared about their families. Both were trying to get ahead. He was glad they were growing closer. He hoped they would grow closer still.

He stayed at work until the bakery closed at 6 p.m. He was ready to go home and relax. It had been a long day. After he ate he called Katniss. He wondered if she was home from work yet. She’d been working so hard on planning the wedding, he wondered if she’d kick back a bit now or throw herself full force into her job at Abernathy, Inc.

Prim answered the phone. He heard her call to Katniss, then in the background Katniss muttering something to Prim. He couldn’t make out what she said. Then Prim said, “You need to tell Peeta or I will.’

What happened? Why didn’t she want to talk to him? 

Finally Katniss got on the line.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Not so good, Haymitch fired me.” Her voice was soft. 

“What? Why?”

“He found out I was moonlighting. He said that as my employer he owned all my creative skills. I couldn’t work a second job.”

“Did you know about that policy? Did you sign anything?”

“I don’t remember signing anything..the topic never really came up.”

“I’m sorry. I never would have told you about the job if I’d known this would happen,” he apologized.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.” She sighed loudly. “The business world is really terrible Peeta. Haymitch told me that as my employer he owned me. I am not someone’s slave.” Her voice had started out weak, but it was stronger now. She was clearly angry. “And Effie is working in my office now.”

“Maybe you should go into business for yourself then.” 

“I don’t know..” her voice trailed off.

“Why not? You know what you’re doing. You have a record of success. Let’s have lunch tomorrow. We can discuss it further.”

They made plans for Katniss to meet him at the bakery at noon. 

Peeta hung up the phone. He knew she felt terrible but he couldn’t help but think of that famous quote, Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. Katniss could definitely turn things around. She just needed a little confidence in herself. Who knows? Maybe they could help each other.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gale took a cab to Snow’s office immediately after his plane landed in Burbank. Delly waved him into the office. 

“Sit down Mr. Hawthorne,” Snow said.

Gale sat down in the same chair he’d sat down a couple of months ago, when he had been passed over for the department manager promotion. 

“I think we’ll make this whole situation a lot simpler by agreeing not to lie to each other,” he said. “What do you think?”

Gale gulped. “Yes, I think that would save time.”

“My attorney was convinced you’d be difficult, but you’re not planning on it, are you?” 

What is he talking about?” Gale wondered. His mouth was so dry. He shouldn’t have had that third glass of wine. “No,” he finally said.

“That’s what I told him. Anyone who would go to such lengths as to make up a fake marriage just to get ahead on the job isn’t going to be interested in throwing away his career with both hands. And of course there’re all his wives to think about, Katniss the career woman, and more recently, the grief-stricken Madge. Do they know each other?”

Gale kept his face impassive, but inwardly he was cringing. This was it. His career was over. Why didn’t Snow just fire him outright? 

“I have a problem Mr. Hawthorne,” Snow continued. “I know that you have been in contact with the Federal Home Loan Bank Board regarding the merger with National Trust. I also have an open department manager position that I suspect you are very interested in. Perhaps we can make a deal. You go to the FHLBB and tell them you were mistaken in exchange for a nice promotion.”

Is he crazy? Gale thought. Snow obviously had no idea of the sheer volume of information he’d passed along to the FHLBB. Sure, he’d like the promotion, but he didn’t want to get ahead this way. Pretending to be married was one thing – lying to the federal government was much more serious. He wasn’t planning on a stint in jail becoming a bullet point on his resume. 

Besides, the FHLBB, impressed by his diligence, had offered him a job last week. He’d turned it down because the pay was awful, but maybe he should reconsider. At least it would give him someplace to land.

“No deal Snow,” he said. “It’s been nice working for you.”

Snow’s face grew redder and redder. Gale stood up, ready to leave, when Delly opened the door and peeked her head into the office.

“Excuse me President Snow, there are some people here from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to see you regarding sexual discrimination here at L.A. Federal,” she said.

“Ask the gentlemen to wait Hotlips,” he replied. 

Gale jerked his head to stare at Delly. She did look a little like Loretta Swit, the actress who played that nurse nicknamed Hotlips on the t.v. show Mash, but who would talk to their secretary that way? Was it really true that they had something going on?

A flash of anger crossed Delly’s face. She opened the door completely and stepped inside.

“I have told you on numerous occasions not to speak to me that way, President Snow,” she stated calmly. “Now I have official witnesses.”

An older gray-haired woman and a man in his late thirties were at Delly’s heels. Gale froze in place as the man stepped forward and dropped some paperwork on Snow’s desk. 

“Coriolanus Snow, you are under investigation by the EEOC for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We believe you have created an intimidating, hostile, and offensive work environment here at L.A. Federal,” the man stated.

Snow stood up and began to argue with the man. Gale took the opportunity to slowly back out of the room. 

“I need to talk with you,” Delly mouthed as he was leaving.

Gale was puzzled. He just quit. What did Delly need to tell him?

She followed Gale out and closed the door behind her. 

 

Author’s Note: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the agency of the United States government that enforces federal employment discrimination laws.


	13. Things Can Only Get Better (Howard Jones)

“I just quit,” Gale told Delly. “Snow is a crook.”

“In more ways than you think,” Delly stated. “I can take a break now. Let’s get some coffee.”

“Okay,” Gale said. He never thought he’d be having a discussion with Delly Cartwright about Snow. He’d always thought she was super loyal to her boss.

Gale started to walk toward the employee break room, but Delly shook her head. “That room is bugged. No privacy there.” She walked toward the elevator. “We can talk at that coffee shop around the corner.”

“Okay.” The break room is bugged? Gale was getting more and more curious. What was Delly going to tell him?

They sat down at a small table in the diner and ordered.

“I thought you were loyal to Snow,” Gale started.

Delly laughed. “That man is the most sexist jerk I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been collecting data on him since the first week I started here. He’s hit on almost every female he’s encountered at this bank. Some women have foolishly fallen for his quid pro quo tactics.”

Gale thought about a couple of promotions in other areas of the company that seemed kind of unbelievable at the time. Like when that secretary was promoted to department manager. Did she sleep with Snow to get that job?

“I had no idea this was going on,” he said.

“No idea? What do you think he did to you?” she retorted.

“I wasn’t harassed,” Gale said stiffly.

“Then why did you pretend to be married?”

The whole company knows it. He felt so stupid. “Because he said he only promoted men who were married.” Gale’s voice was strangled. “So was I the talk of the office today because of that L.A. Times piece?”

Delly looked surprised. “I don’t know anything about that,” she said.

“Then how did you know I wasn’t married to Katniss?”

Delly looked contrite. “It was a guess, really. I have a friend who is interested in Katniss. He asked me about you because he was so shocked when he heard at the merger dinner that you and Katniss were married. He insisted that Katniss had told him she was single. I started paying attention and found out from a friend in Human Resources that you never signed her up as your beneficiary for your life insurance. You never put her on your benefits plan. That’s standard practice for most newly married employees. I was wondering what was going on.”

Gale remembered getting a memo about that stuff weeks ago. He’d thrown all of it into the trash.

She continued. “This morning President Snow asked me to track down some woman named Madge Undersee and send her a dozen roses. However, the card enclosed was supposed to be addressed to Katniss and make some reference about your marriage.”

Gale visibly flinched and grew pale. Now he’d have to tell Madge about the fake marriage in addition to the fact that he’d quit his job.

Delly noticed his alarm. “Don’t worry. I didn’t do it. I figured he was up to his old tricks. He gets a kick out of messing with relationships.”

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“So are you even married?” Delly was curious.

“Yes, I married Madge Undersee a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “Katniss is a long-time friend who agreed to pretend to be my wife to help me get ahead on the job. In fact, she introduced me to Madge.”

Delly took a deep breath and sighed. “That’s good to hear. Because my friend has been dating Katniss for a while now. He likes her a lot. I hoped she wasn’t lying to him. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“Is your friend a baker?”

She nodded. “Do you know Peeta?”

“I’ve met him,” Gale said, gruffly.

“What are you going to do? Gale asked Delly. “Are you quitting your job, too?”

“No. I don’t think President Snow will have a job much longer,” Delly said. “I alerted the Board of Directors about the EEOC investigation in a memo this morning. They’ve called an emergency meeting tonight to discuss it.”

“Well they might be interested in knowing that the FHLBB is conducting an investigation into the merger, as well,” Gale added. “I set that into motion.”

Delly grinned. “That’s even better,” she squealed. “You need to go to that meeting tonight and tell them.”

“Sure,” Gale said. What did he have to lose? He’d already quit his job.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The board meeting proved to be quite enlightening. Snow appeared with his attorney. The EEOC representatives spoke and then Delly spoke and provided a notebook of data she’d personally compiled showing the grievances against Snow. Several other women were there to support her claims. Some of them broke down in tears recounting the personal harassment by the bank president. There was only one woman on the board, and Gale watched her face get angrier and angrier as the evidence unfolded.

Gale spoke last. He didn’t go into specifics about the fake marriage, but he did mention that Snow had implied he’d been passed over for a promotion because he wasn’t married. Then he dropped the bombshell that he had tipped off the FHLBB regarding improprieties that had occurred with the National Trust bank merger. He told them that an investigation was already underway. He also told them that Snow had promised to give him the department manager job if he would tell the FHLBB he’d been mistaken.

The board president stopped the meeting abruptly and asked everyone but the board members, President Snow, and his attorney to leave the room. Twenty minutes later, someone came out and invited everyone back in. The board president announced that Snow was going on an immediate leave of absence and would not be returning until an investigation was complete.

There was clapping among all of the witnesses. Snow and his attorney hurried out of the room.

Delly made her way to Gale in the crowd. “Thank you so much for testifying. I think the FHLBB investigation was final straw.”

“So what’s next?” Gale asked Delly. “Do you still have a job?”

“Of course I do,” she replied. “And so do you if you want one. No one but Snow knows you quit. And he’s gone now.”

“I really don’t want to stay in Portland,” Gale muttered.

“I suggest talking to Vice President Heavensbee, tomorrow morning. With Cato out he really needs someone to run the Acquisitions department. Maybe you can move into that position.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By 10 a.m. the next morning Gale was sitting in his new corner office that overlooked the congestion on the Interstate 5 Freeway. He was the new Acquistions manager for L.A. Federal. He’d already called Madge with the good news. Last night he’d confessed and told her everything – the fake marriage, contacting the FHLBB to start an investigation into the merger, and telling Snow he quit. It had been an interesting conversation in which Madge had revealed a secret of her own -- her huge credit card debt. The conversation had been a brutal one, but at least they both knew the full score now. He hoped things would be much smoother from now on. He didn’t think they could get much worse, and at least he still had a job.

He thought he’d call Katniss to let her know what had happened, although he suspected she’d already read the news about Snow’s quick departure in the business section of today’s Los Angeles Times. In fact, he was a little surprised she hadn’t called him already. He hoped she still wasn’t mad at him because of his marriage to Madge. He dialed her number at Abernathy, Inc.

But a strange voice answered her direct line. When he asked for Katniss, the voice informed him that she no longer worked there.

What? He quickly dialed her home number. Maybe Prim was still there and could tell him what was going on. But Katniss answered.

“I just called your work number and someone told me you don’t work there anymore,” he asked her. “Did you quit?”

She was silent for so long that Gale wondered if the line had gone dead. Finally she spoke.

“I was fired because I was moonlighting and Haymitch found out.”

“Wow. What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I’m not sure yet. I’m having lunch with Peeta to come up with a plan.”

“You’re going to work at a bakery?”

“Peeta has a business degree, Gale. He’s going to help me come up with a plan.”

“Okay,” Gale said. He realized it probably wasn’t a good time to tell her about his promotion, but he had other good news for her. “I called to tell you that Snow was suspended from his job. Chances are good he’s never coming back. So you don’t have to worry about the fake marriage anymore. It’s over. And because of the circumstances under which he left, he’s not in position to destroy anyone’s career.”

“That’s good to hear.” Katniss sounded relieved. “Did you ever tell Madge?”

“Yeah, last night. She wasn’t happy at all, but she doesn’t hold it against you. She blames me. She called me an ass.”

“Well, you are. But I’m glad she understands because I don’t want to lose her friendship because of it.”

“No, it’s fine. In fact, we should all get together soon for dinner or something. I’ll have Madge call you. You can bring the baker.”

“His name is Peeta and he’s my boyfriend,” Katniss said.

“Have you ever even had a boyfriend?” Gale questioned. “I know you dated some, but..”

“No, just a fake husband,” she replied. “Look I have to get dressed. Say `hi’ to Madge. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, thanks for everything. I know the fake marriage thing was a bit much. If you ever need anything, a fake cousin or something, I’ll be happy to help out.”

“I’ll keep that in mind Gale, but I really have to go,” she said. “I’m meeting Peeta soon.

“One last thing Catnip, since we’ve split up, feel free to keep the toaster.”

 

Author’s Note: The Federal Home Loan Bank Board FHLBB was an independent agency in the executive branch of the federal government that regulated and supervised the savings and loan industry. It was abolished in 1989, and its functions were transferred to other agencies, including the Office of Thrift Supervision.

 

**Epilogue – 1987 – Always (Atlantic Starr)**

Katniss stood in the bedroom. She held a plastic stick between her index finger and her thumb and waited for a line to appear on the end of the stick. A plus sign meant she was pregnant, a straight line meant she wasn’t.

She heard Peeta in the kitchen. He was making breakfast. She could smell the cheese buns baking in the oven.

Finally the picture in the little window at the end of the stick became clear.

Katniss walked to the kitchen holding it. She stood in the doorway watching her husband open the oven and pull out a tray and set it onto the stovetop.

He stopped when he saw her.

“Are you pregnant?” A look of excitement appeared on his face.

“Yes,” she grinned, waving the stick and running into his arms.

Later, as they sat at the table eating cold cheese buns, Katniss thought back over the past two years. Her life had changed so much and Peeta was at the heart of it. He had helped her to realize there was more to life than making a living. He had taught her that it was okay to lean on someone else. He showed her that life goes on no matter what happens. And it could be good again. In fact, it could even be better.

What had seemed to be such a devastating event, getting fired from her job, had been one of the best things that had ever happened to her. She started her own wedding planning business. Her firm specialized in high-end weddings for the well to do in the Los Angeles area. Her small office was located only a few doors down from Mellark Bakery. She shared her space with Cinna’s Bridal Fashions.

One thing she had learned from Haymitch was the value of a good vendor list. Besides getting paid for her work by her bridal clients, she also negotiated commissions from the vendors she booked for her clients. Peeta, with his business acumen, had been instrumental in showing her exactly how to maximize her profit. Of course she didn’t charge a commission to Mellark Bakery, her only cake supplier, because she had a personal relationship with the owner. Her business was doing so well, that she even turned down the occasional job, most recently Clove Ableman’s second marriage.

When Haymitch called seven months after firing her and asked her to help run the public relations campaign for the first Los Angeles Marathon she wanted to tell him to take a flying leap. But her business was in its early stages, and she did have the time. Fortunately, Peeta had warned her against burning her bridges. As a business owner, she understood that it was better to stay on good terms with everyone.

She took the consulting job and charged Haymitch three times her usual rate. He complained but admitted he had no choice. Effie had made a mess of the project and he needed Katniss to fix things. Haymitch never mentioned her firing; in fact he praised her to everyone as his former star employee. While drunk one afternoon, he admitted that Effie begged him for a job after losing her position in New York. By then, though Katniss didn’t need an apology, she was past all that. It was funny how easy it was to forgive someone when you were in a better place.

Peeta asked her to marry him six months after they began to date. Katniss agreed, but waited another six months before tying the knot. Ironically, the wedding was a small family affair. After planning so many large weddings for her job, she didn’t feel like being the center of a big extravaganza.

After her wedding, Peeta’s parents moved to Arizona for an early retirement. They turned the bakery over to Peeta to run and their home over to Peeta and Katniss to live in. His parents didn’t want to sell just yet. Real estate values were on the rise and were expected to go even higher.

The pregnancy was a surprise, probably the first unplanned thing Katniss had ever done, but it was a welcome one for both of them. Life was full of surprises. She agreed with Peeta, people only get so much time. A person might as well be happy.

Eventually, Peeta rose from his seat at the kitchen table and kissed Katniss goodbye. He had to get to the bakery. His business was expanding daily. He’d hired several more employees so he could focus on the bigger picture. He had recently opened a second kitchen dedicated to providing Mellark baked goods to the finer restaurants in Los Angeles.

Katniss followed him to the door. It was still early. She’d run to the guesthouse in the back now and wake up Prim. Tell her the good news that she’d be an aunt. Later, she’d call Madge. Maybe they’d get together when Gale returned from his business trip to Florida where he negotiating L.A. Federal’s newest acquisition.

Then she’d shower, and drive to her office. Another wedding to plan, another memory to make.  
Later, she’d spend some time outdoors with Peeta, take a long walk in the mountains, or, maybe on the beach.

One thing she was sure of -- today was going to be a really, really, really good day.

Author’s Note: The first Los Angeles Marathon was held on March 9, 1986. It is still run today.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for following The Occasional Wife and reviewing it. I had fun writing it and listening to all the songs used for the chapter headings. These songs were all on Billboard’s top 100 song list for 1985 (with the exception of Always, which was on the 1987 Billboard list). It was definitely, in my opinion, an excellent year for music.  
  



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